Few staffs this off season were raided for coaching talent quite like Willie Fritz's at Tulane.
Green Wave defensive coaches especially became a hot commodity after a 10-game improvement in the win column from 2021 to 2022, including their 46-45 Cotton Bowl win over USC.
Defensive coordinator Chris Hampton left for the defensive coordinator job at Oregon back in mid-January, and Lance Guidry was on campus for a short time as the new defensive coordinator for the Green Wave before Miami swooped in to hire him away. In March, linebackers coach Michael Mutz left to be the new defensive coordinator at Stephen Austin and South Carolina brought Travian Robertson home to his alma mater in the same capacity.
Over the weekend, multiple reports shared that Fritz has the replacement for Robinson lined up.
LSU defensive analyst Gerald Chatman is expected to join the staff as the team's new leader of their defensive front.
Matt Zentiz was among the first to share the news.
It actually marks a return to Tulane for Chapman, who was in place as Tulane's defensive line coach before leaving to join Ed Orgeron's LSU staff in 2021. He ultimately left that post for the defensive line job at Colorado under Karl Dorrell, and was elevated to defensive coordinator following the coaching change to interim head coach Mike Sanford in early October of 2022.
This past spring, Chatman stepped in as LSU's interim defensive line coach for the spring and impressed those in Baton Rouge, leading to this most recent opportunity with Fritz just a short drive away in New Orleans.
Chatman's coaching journey since 2010 has included stops from Division III (UW-Oshkosh), the MAC (Ball State), AAC (Tulane), FCS (Ball State, Elon, and Tennessee State), the SEC at Texas A&M and LSU, and a few seasons as a defensive assistant in the NFL with the Bengals.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.