Tulane is targeting Marshall defensive coordinator Lance Guidry to serve in the same post, sources told FootballScoop on Tuesday. A deal could be in place as soon as today.
The defending American and Cotton Bowl champions lost defensive coordinator Chris Hampton to Oregon, and head coach Willie Fritz moved quickly to fill the spot with a qualified coach who happens to be among the most well-known coaches in Louisiana.
The 51-year-old Welsh, La., native played at McNeese in the early 1990s and spent the first 15 years of his career bouncing between his alma mater and the Louisiana high school ranks.
Guidry left Louisiana in 2009 to coach defensive backs at Miami (Ohio) and rose the ranks before returning to McNeese as defensive coordinator in 2013. He was promoted to head coach in 2016 and went 21-12 in three seasons, including a top-25 finish in 2017.
Guidry spent 2019 as the defensive coordinator at Southeastern Louisiana and joined the Marshall staff as defensive coordinator and safeties coach in 2021.
This past season, the Thundering Herd finished among the top 10 in FBS in:
-- yards per play
-- stop rate
-- takeaways
-- pass efficiency defense
-- third downs
-- rushing defense
-- scoring defense
-- defensive touchdowns
Guidry and cornerbacks coach Chevis Jackson were selected by their peers as finalists for the FootballScoop Defensive Backs Coaches of the Year in 2022.
Tulane completed the largest year-to-year turnaround in FBS history, going from 2-10 to 12-2 with the program's first conference championship since 1998 and its first New Year's Six win since 1934. The Green Wave were rated No. 3 in FootballScoop's Year End Top 25.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.
Update> Sources tell FootballScoop Guidry has agreed to terms and will become the next defensive coordinator of the Green Wave.