| Garret Chachere |
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Garret Chachere enters his second season with the Tiger football staff. He serves as an assistant coach responsible for the special teams unit.
In 2007, Chachere inherited a unit that included 2006 C-USA All-Freshman honoree Matt Reagan, who had a stellar rookie season kicking for the Tigers. Chachere also had the talents of junior college punter Brent Sutherland and return specialist Michael Grandberry.
This past season, Reagan earned two C-USA Player of the Week honors and led the Tigers in scoring with 80 points. He hit all but three of his 38 PATs and was 15-of-22 on field goals, while also handling a majority of the kickoffs. Sutherland was steady throughout the season and averaged 40.7 yards on his 52 punts, while dropping 12 of his attempts inside the opponent's 20-yard line. Under Chachere's guidance, Grandberry flourished and set nearly every U of M kickoff return record, including single-game yardage (168 vs USM), single-season returns (59), single-season yardage (1,286) and career 100-yard games (8). He also holds the Tigers' all-time records for returns with 81 and for yardage with 1,826 yards and has one season to add to those marks.
No stranger to Conference USA, Chachere spent eight years (1999-2006) at his alma mater, Tulane, where he coached the Green Wave linebackers and special teams. He was also involved in recruiting Louisiana, Texas, Florida and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. In 2002, the Green Wave received an invitation to the Hawai'i Bowl and defeated host Hawai'i for the title.
During his stint at Tulane, Chachere helped develop linebacker Anthony Cannon, who was drafted by the Detroit Lions. Cannon earned first-team All-C-USA honors in 2005 and logged four-straight 100-tackle seasons en route to ranking third all-time in C-USA in tackles.
In addition, Chachere worked on a daily basis with the Tulane Athletics Academic Services department to monitor the academic progress of all Green Wave football student-athletes.
A running back for the Green Wave, Chachere played two seasons for Mack Brown and Greg Davis and was a member of the 1987 Independence Bowl Team.
A New Orleans native, Chachere began his coaching career as a student assistant for Tulane in 1991 while completing his bachelor's degree in communications.
Upon graduation, he moved to Pennsylvania for three years and coached defensive backs at Cheney State (1992), Bloomsburg (1993) and Bucknell (1994) before returning to Louisiana and serving as linebackers coach at Nicholls State from 1995-97.
During his tenure in Thibodaux, La., the Colonels advanced to the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA national playoffs, and at the time, were part of the biggest season turnarounds in NCAA Division I history.
Chachere, 39, left the Colonels and moved north to Monroe, La., in 1998 to coach tight ends at Northeast Louisiana (now UL-Monroe) before heading back to New Orleans to begin his eight-year tenure with the Green Wave.
He is currently the chairman of the program committee for the American Football Coaches Association. In 2002, Chachere was selected by the NFL for a coaching internship with the Seattle Seahawks.
Chachere is married to the former Lauren Duplessis of Hampton, Va. The couple has three sons: Grant, Noah and Jackson.
Born
March 17, 1969
New Orleans, La.
Alma Mater
Tulane, 1992
Bachelor's degree in communications
Collegiate Playing Experience
1987-88: Tulane (Running Back)
Family
Wife - Lauren
Children - Grant, Noah & Jackson
Coaching Experience
2007: University of Memphis
1999-2006: Tulane
1998: Northeast Louisiana
1995-97: Nicholls State
1994: Bucknell
1993: Bloomsburg
1992: Cheyney State
1991/SA: Tulane
Recruiting Area
Louisiana, Florida Panhandle, Mobile, Ala.
