Jamey Chadwell called a team meeting five years ago when the Chanticleers were in the middle of a nine game losing streak. He told the assistants to leave and shut the door because he didn't like them. What was needed to be said in this room was between them.
Chadwell allowed the players to have it.
There was only silence for a short time. But Chadwell didn't act immediately. The disapproving looks, the off-hand remarks, and the direct challenges to his authority in practice were all part of the animosity he felt for a long time. He said that it wasn't concealed. Nobody wanted to work with him. He had only been there for seven months. The players wondered how to trust Chadwell because he was from Charleston Southern.
The meeting was tense according to a freshman guard. He said it was terrible to wait for someone to speak up.
They signed on to play for Chadwell. He was not like Joe Moglia, who had to leave for health reasons. Moglia prided himself on having no rules. When you're winning, Chadwell was hard-nosed and demanded accountability. You're not when you're not.
"I know you would like to speak," Chadwell said. I am aware that you don't like some of the things happening. Allow me to have it.
A few of the vets did. Some of their criticism was personal. Chadwell was able to live with players not liking him, but they didn't seem to like him.
He told the players that he had been given the job for a reason and that some things would not change.
We can either try to make the end of the season worthwhile or we can tank it. It's up to you.
He had made a decision. He had to accept the challenge and learn from it in order to grow.
He said it was the worst year of his life when he was interim coach. It was a hard time to be around. The Lord will mold you to better yourself, better your family, better your program, whatever it may be, by taking you through that test. If I didn't go through '17, we wouldn't be this program and I wouldn't be here today.
So much has changed over the last five years. Coastal Carolina, led by full-time head coach Chadwell, has gone from struggling through the transition to thrive as one of the premiere Group of 5 programs in the country. The Chanticleers will look to stay perfect when they travel to Georgia State.
When you mentioned Coastal to a casual college football fan, they would ask, "Pacific or Atlantic?" Before the Chanticleers became a recognizable Group of 5 program, they were best known for two things: their bright teal colored turf and a coach who was once the CEO of the company.
Moglia was an advisor to Bo Pelini at Nebraska before becoming the head coach at Coastal. He won 50 games in his first five seasons.
One team that was a constant thorn in Moglia's side was Charleston Southern, which had won three of their past four games.
Moglia had an idea about transitioning to the Sun Belt Conference. Wouldn't it be great to have Chadwell as offensive coordinators? Two coaches talked. Moglia toldChadwell how much he respected him. He came up with a plan.
Moglia told Chadwell that his name kept coming up for different jobs. If we go somewhere else, you have the choice of coming with me or succeeding me at Coastal.
In the event that another job didn't come along, Moglia said, "You can succeed me when I step down."
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Chadwell was interested in what was happening. He would get to learn from Moglia, who was unique in the world of coaching, and he would be getting in on the ground floor of a program. Moglia gave up 30 minutes of practice each week to teach life skills and was a master at delegation. The team held mock debates.
At 39 years old, Chadwell couldn't pass up the chance to expand his knowledge. He said it was difficult to let his staff and players know he was leaving. People told him he was making a mistake. He wanted to get bigger.
He wouldn't know what he was getting into. Two years had passed since Moglia's health began to decline. Moglia was struggling to breathe after Chadwell got to campus because of the cough he thought was a simple case of allergies.
Moglia was diagnosed with mold in his lungs after many tests and X-rays. He was told by his doctor to stop. It would be possible for him to live a normal life if he sought treatment immediately. His condition would get worse and he would need an oxygen tank to survive.
Moglia called Chadwell into his office and said he was stepping away. Moglia brought Chadwell on board as O.C.'s head coach seven months later.
Moglia's health wasChadwell's first concern. "We have two days before everyone is supposed to get here," he said. I don't know what I'm going to do.
While Chadwell was familiar with the mechanics of running a program, he didn't know much about the staff or the players.
Moglia said there was an assistant coach who thought he should have the job instead of Chadwell.
What's more, Chadwell had no idea what the move to the highest level of collegiate athletics would mean.
Chadwell wasn't happy with the result of the season opener.
He said that as a head coach he knew there were many things that didn't work out. He was concerned about the team's lack of depth and ability to grow. I was like, 'We're in for a long season.'
Chadwell said that the meeting helped turn things around. More than a dozen players would leave the program because they didn't agree with the direction of the program. AsCoastal went on the road, they almost upset Arkansas. The Chanticleers won two games in a row to end the season.
Chadwell said he was trying to be someone else. I was trying to do it the way Coach did it, but also do what's best for me. You are in between. You didn't hire any coaches and you're trying to get them to join. You are trying to be a head coach and a quarterback coach.
He didn't give the quarterbacks enough attention.
He had a lot on his plate. They were correct to call me out on it. I need to do better things. It was enjoyable. There were some things that hurt and I need to get better at them.
Moglia let Chadwell settle in as O.C. and do what he came to Coastal to learn. It was eye-opening to see how Moglia operated. Everything was communicated.
Chadwell said he figured out how to prioritize and take the most important problem and solve it before moving on. He said that he doesn't need to be strict on X because it doesn't matter in winning and losing. This is the most important thing.
When Moglia sat him down and said he was leaving for good, Chadwell didn't feel like he was going to do anything.
He had learned a lot from the season.
He said that it told him that he could change. I can make changes.
Jackson Baltar mishandles the snap and the score is taken in by Jahmar Brown.
It was late in the evening after the final practice on campus that the team would leave for the Cure Bowl. The players showered. Carter was about to head home when he saw the lights were still on at the stadium. Some of his teammates sat on the grass.
Carter went with them. All of them were senior citizens. There was a group of people. The star tight end came out as well.
The program had come a long way. They pointed out seats that didn't exist when they were at school.
Carter said they were just talking about the year before. People were laughing at us and it was awful. We didn't want to be seen wearing our football gear. It was very embarrassing.
They talked about what it felt like to be on the verge of something great. In his first year as a full-time head coach, everything was changing. The players were bought in and Chadwell was more like a real person. Carter said that he was able to connect with players because he had built relationships with everyone on an individual level.
They went 4-7 that year, which wasn't great, but they only lost two of them by more than 10 points. They had the ability to do things. They had to learn to finish games.
Carter said that they were lucky that they ended their careers with those two years.
Pick games and play for prizes. Pick your favorites.
They learned how to finish. They beat Louisiana in a breakthrough game in 2020. They beat the 13th ranked team in the world at home. Last year, Coastal won 11 games in a row.
How did they accomplish it? Carter said it was easy to trust.
The Chanticleers had that in the past. They picked up the broken parts. Carter said they felt like brothers while sitting on the field for the last time.
After graduating from college, Carter joined Chadwell's staff as a graduate assistant. The Coastal team is off to a great start this season with three victories. It will travel to Georgia State on Thursday.
The Chanticleers'.893 win percentage is the second best in the country, behind only Alabama.
Moglia thought Chadwell was going to get a Power 5 job. If Chadwell makes the leap, what then?
It didn't surprise him that Chadwell was linked to the Nebraska job. Bryan Harsin's name will pop up there if he is fired by auburn.
At this time, Chadwell is not entertaining hypotheticals. He said he might have talked to South Carolina and Tennessee when their jobs were open. There may have been some serious consideration of those opportunities. He said there's nothing serious going on.
If he is cagey on the topic of promotions, please forgive him. He was stuck in no-man's land as interim head coach and wondered how he could reach players who wanted him gone. He thought he was a failure.
He's a candidate for a big-time Power 5 job.
They're doing well and people are happy about it. He said that the man was going to get a job. I'm still here at Coastal Carolina because of that. I think that gives you an idea of what I think about this place, what I think about Coach Moglia, and what we're trying to build here.
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