Furman head football coach
Clay Hendrix announced on Feb. 7, 2020, the hiring of Chad Byers as the Paladins' new outside linebackers coach, and on June, 2, 2021, Byers added the title of special teams coordinator.
Byers, who served in a defensive quality control capacity for the Paladins in 2015, returns to Furman following a one-year stint as graduate assistant linebackers coach at Marshall University (2019) and a three-year tenure (2016-18) at Shepherd University, where he served in a variety of roles, including linebackers coach, special teams coordinator, recruiting coordinator, and director of operations.
At Marshall he played a role in the development of 2019 All-Conference USA linebackers Tavante Beckett and Omari Cobb. In his time at Shepherd, he worked with defensive units that ranked among the best in NCAA Division II in rushing defense, total defense, and scoring defense, and which helped the Rams to two Mountain East Conference Championships and a pair of NCAA Playoff appearances, including a semifinal finish 2016.
Byers' 2016-18 tenure at Shepherd was his second at the Shepherdstown, W.Va., school. From 2013-15 he coached the Rams' wide receivers and was part the program's 2013 Mountain East Conference crown.
During his 2015 season at Furman he was part of a Paladin program that knocked off Central Florida, 16-15.
Byers attended James Madison University from 2008-12 and played linebacker for the Dukes, rising from walk-on to scholarship status. After winning the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) title in 2008, the Dukes knocked of Virginia Tech, 21-16, in 2010.
Holder of a Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology from JMU, which he received in 2012, he is married to Kelly Gooch, formerly of Richmond, Va.
