ATLANTA – The rumor mill swirled on the Arkansas campus as Chad Morris turned his attention to hiring a defensive coordinator in December after landing the Razorbacks’ head coaching job.
Morris, a newcomer to the Southeastern Conference, knew whom he wanted. Morris said at SEC Media Days on Tuesday that his first call was to John Chavis, the former longtime Tennessee defensive coordinator who made more recent stops at LSU and Texas A&M.
“I needed someone with that experience,” said Morris, an offensive mind coming off three years as the Southern Methodist head coach.
The Razorbacks’ players were not as convinced.
“The first meeting I had with Coach Chavis, I really didn’t know what to expect, because I heard a lot of different things about Chavis,” Arkansas senior linebacker Dre Greenlaw said Tuesday. “I heard that he’s a grumpy old man. I heard that he was this and that.”