Christopher Joseph Scelfo (born September 30, 1963) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

coach. He was most recently the

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numb ...

coach for the DC Defenders of the XFL. He was the offensive line coach and run-game coordinator for the Arizona Hotshots of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...

, having previously served in a similar position with the

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

Cougars The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. ...

and

Charlotte 49ers The Charlotte 49ers are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 49ers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

. He previously served as the tight ends coach for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcon ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

(NFL). He served as head coach at Tulane from 1998 to 2006, including in the aftermath of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

, and amassed a 37–57 record. He previously held assistant coaching positions at

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Early life

Scelfo was born in

Abbeville, Louisiana Abbeville is a city in, and the parish seat of, Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States, west of New Orleans and southwest of Baton Rouge. The population was 12,257 at the 2010 census. At the 2020 population estimates program, the populati ...

on September 30, 1963, and later lived in

New Iberia, Louisiana New Iberia (french: La Nouvelle-Ibérie; es, Nueva Iberia) is the largest city in and parish seat of Iberia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The city of New Iberia is located approximately southeast of Lafayette, and forms part of the L ...

, where he attended New Iberia Senior High. He went on to college at

Northeast Louisiana University The University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM) is a public university in Monroe, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System. History ULM opened in 1931 as Ouachita Parish Junior College. Three years later it became the Northeast Cen ...

.Player Bio: Chris Scelfo
, Tulane University, retrieved June 27, 2010. He played football in high school and college, and was a three-year letterwinner at both institutions. In college, he also served as the team captain. Scelfo graduated with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...

from Northeast Louisiana in 1986 and received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from there in 1988.

Coaching career

Scelfo became a graduate assistant at his alma mater from 1986 to 1987, then in the same position at the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

from 1988 to 1989. He then served as the offensive line coach at

Marshall University Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. The university is currently composed of nine colleges ...

from 1990 to 1995, and also held the position of

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach r ...

in his last three seasons there. Scelfo then spent three seasons at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

as assistant head and offensive line coach.

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

hired Scelfo to replace Tommy Bowden as its 36th coach mid-season on December 7, 1998. The only game he coached that year was the

Liberty Bowl The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic Cit ...

, where he led the

Green Wave A green wave occurs when a series of traffic lights (usually three or more) are coordinated to allow continuous traffic flow over several intersections in one main direction. Any vehicle traveling along with the green wave (at an approximate spee ...

to victory over

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his death in 1877. During his time as chu ...

. With the win, Tulane finished the season with a perfect 12–0 record and the

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are ...

championship. In 2002, Scelfo led Tulane to the 2002 Hawaii Bowl, where they defeated

June Jones June Sheldon Jones III (born February 19, 1953) is an American football coach and former player who is currently the Offensive Coordinator of the Seattle Sea Dragons. Jones was the head football coach at the University of Hawaii at Manoa from 1 ...

' high-octane

Hawaii Warriors The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and Rainbow Wāhine are the athletic teams that represent the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UH), in Honolulu, Hawaii. The UH athletics program is a member of the Big West Conference in most sports and compete ...

. The Green Wave surprised observers by recovering an

onside kick In gridiron football, an onside kick is a kickoff deliberately kicked short in an attempt by the kicking team to regain possession of the ball. This is in contrast with a typical kickoff, in which the kicking team intends to give the ball to the ...

on the first play of the game, and went on to win, 36–28. After

devastated New Orleans in August 2005, the Tulane football team was forced to play all 11 of its games on the road, each in a different city, which may have contributed to the Green Wave's 2–9 record. Ole Miss head coach

Ed Orgeron Edward James Orgeron Jr. (; born July 27, 1961) is an American football coach. He was most recently the head football coach at Louisiana State University (LSU), a position he held from midway through the 2016 season until the 2021 season. Orge ...

contacted a Tulane assistant about players transferring in the wake of the hurricane.Orgeron defends conversation with Tulane aide; Mississippi coach discussed possible transfers from New Orleans school
, MSNBC, November 28, 2005.Ole Miss' Ed Orgeron defends conversation with Tulane coach about possible transfers
''The Tuscaloosa News'', November 29, 2005. Scelfo accused Ole Miss of tampering and said:

"In the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States, you've got to stoop pretty low to do that. You're lower than dirt ... I'm not going to tolerate that. There's people in our business that don't belong in our business."

The

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

investigated the matter and exonerated Ole Miss of any wrongdoing. After failing to compile a winning season since 2002, Tulane fired Scelfo on November 29, 2006.Tulane's rebuilding in football to go on without Scelfo
ESPN, November 29, 2006. His final record at Tulane was 37–57. In January 2008, the

of the NFL hired Scelfo as its tight ends coach. He later became the offensive line coach for the

and

Houston Cougars The Houston Cougars are the athletic teams representing the University of Houston. Informally, the Houston Cougars have also been referred to as the Coogs, UH, or simply Houston. Houston's nickname was suggested by early physical education instr ...

. In 2019, he returned to the professional level as the offensive line coach and run-game coordinator for the Arizona Hotshots of the

, followed by the DC Defenders of the XFL in 2020.

Personal life

Scelfo is married to wife Nancy née Caldwell, with whom he has a son and a daughter. His brother, Frank Scelfo, is currently the head coach at

Southeastern Louisiana University Southeastern Louisiana University (Southeastern) is a public university in Hammond, Louisiana. It was founded in 1925 by Linus A. Sims as Hammond Junior College. Sims succeeded in getting the campus moved to north Hammond in 1928, when it becam ...

. His nephew, Anthony Scelfo, played as a

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...

at Tulane.Spring wrapup: Taking stock of football landscape
''USA Today'', May 10, 2007. Scelfo's son, Joseph, played center at the

University of South Alabama The University of South Alabama (USA) is a public research university in Mobile, Alabama. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in May, 1963, and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alabama. The first ...

from 2012 to 2016. Following Joseph's junior year, he graduate transferred to NC State University for his final year. He signed as an undrafted free agent to the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their home games at NR ...

following the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia ...

.http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/college/article147843349.html

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scelfo, Chris 1963 births Living people American football offensive linemen Arizona Hotshots coaches Atlanta Falcons coaches DC Defenders coaches Georgia Bulldogs football coaches Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football coaches Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football players Marshall Thundering Herd football coaches Oklahoma Sooners football coaches People from Abbeville, Louisiana People from New Iberia, Louisiana Tulane Green Wave football coaches