Chad Byers is entering his sixth year as a member of Furman’s coaching staff, having joined the Paladins’ program in February of 2020 as outside linebackers coach. In the summer of 2021 he added the position of special teams coordinator, and in 2022 year was named co-defensive coordinator while making the positional coaching change to inside linebackers. In each of his assignments he has delivered stellar performance.
In 2024 Byers coached Furman’s top performer — All-American linebacker Evan DiMaggio, who paced the Southern Conference with 120 tackles, including 10.5 for-loss, to cap an impressive career.
In 2023 Byers oversaw a Paladin inside linebacking corps that produced stellar play, highlighted by All-SoCon honors for Braden Gilby, who paced the squad with 94 tackles and 15 tackles for-loss. Byers’ troops were a driving force in Furman’s season, which netted a 10-3 record, second round playoff appearance, and consensus FCS Top 10 final rankings. Included in the campaign, Furman’s winningest since 2005, was a run of seven consecutive victories and five straight road triumphs — the most by the program in over 30 years.
The Paladin defense, which Byers helped coordinate, proved to be the SoCon’s best by the end of the season, topping the league in scoring defense (20.2 ppg) and producing FCS best numbers for interceptions (16) and turnovers gained (29).
In his first two seasons at Furman he directed the play of All-Southern Conference bandit Adrian Hope, who concluded his Paladin tenure ranked second in career sacks (25.5).
Byers, who served in a defensive quality control capacity for the Paladins in 2015, returned 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. They have a daughter, Charley.
