Coastal Carolina defensive coordinator won’t return to team in 2025, ESPN reports
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the reason for former Coastal Carolina Defensive Coordinator Craig Naivar’s departure from CCU. His contract was not renewed after the 2024 season (Updated: 9:20 a.m. on 02/03/2025)
Coastal Carolina’s football team made another personnel change, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports. Via X, formerly known as Twitter, Thamel posted that defensive coordinator Craig Naivar will not return to the team for the 2025 season.
A spokesperson for the university told The Sun News via email that the university did not fire Naivar but chose not to renew his contract, which was expiring after the season. The move could mark the most recent change to a coaching staff that has experienced significant turnover recently. Before the new year, CCU lost its cornerback coach, Curtis Fuller, who left for Appalachian State.
Meanwhile, former Western Kentucky University offensive coordinator Drew Hollingshead just became the new play-caller at CCU months after his predecessor, Travis Trickett, got fired midway through the 2024 season after a loss to the University of Louisiana Lafayette.
Naivar’s exit follows two years of running CCU’s defense. In 2023, he joined head coach Tim Beck’s first coaching staff, having previously coached with him at the University of Texas.
“I said yes; in the back of my mind, I’m thinking it better be warm, and you better be able to win were the two checkmarks I had,” Naivar told The Sun News in 2023.
Beck’s assignment for Naivar was simple: fix a defense that was one of the Sun Belt Conference’s worst in 2022. The situation Naivar entered wasn’t ideal. Several position groups lacked depth at some position groups, and Naivar wasn’t sure what the identity of his squad would be.
“There’s kind of unknown of what we are going to be,” Naivar said before the 2023 season.
With a background coaching the defensive secondary, Naivar’s units were bend-but-don’t-break. He was glad to give up yards but not points.
Naivar emphasized turnovers with his players, and the raspy-voiced Texan occasionally used stark terms to drive home his point. The effort worked, as CCU’s defense turned in a respectable performance in Naivar’s first season in Conway.
In 2023, Coastal gave up the fourth-fewest points per game in the Sun Belt Conference. While CCU pass rushers didn’t drive opposing quarterbacks to the ground frequently, only tallying 21 sacks in 2023, CCU got turnovers — as Naivar intended.
Coastal finished second in interceptions, with the Chanticleer secondary extinguishing many drives with takeaways. Defensive standouts like Michael Mason and Clayton Isbell landed on NFL rosters after their performance in 2023.
While linebacker Clev Lubin and cornerback Matthew McDoom had breakout performances, Naivar’s unit regressed in 2024. Despite retaining several key starters from 2023, Coastal ranked 10th in average points allowed per game and had the second-worst red zone defense in 2024.
The Chants struggled to get off the field on third down as the opposing offense found ways to move forward and sustain drives. Injuries contributed to Coastal’s struggles. The defense dealt with roster churn in both of Naivar’s seasons, but the unit’s performance was disappointing.
The results were particularly frustrating considering the number of players Power Four conference teams signed from CCU’s roster.
Lubin transferred to the University of Louisville, and McDoom to the University of Cincinnati. Meanwhile, other notable defensive linemen like Will Whitson signed with Mississippi State, and Deamontae Diggs left for Florida State.
With Naivar gone, a new coordinator will look to restore CCU’s defense like Naivar did two seasons before. Coastal will have to rebuild that unit through the portal and its current roster.
Like Naivar said before the first game of the 2023 season, the Chants’ defense will get a trial by fire to start 2025. CCU plays Virginia and South Carolina in its out-of-conference schedule.
This story was originally published January 8, 2025 at 11:35 AM.
