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 wit ...
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 numbe ...
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 are ...
, having previously served in a similar position with the
Houston
Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...
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 ma ...
(NFL). He served as head coach at Tulane from 1998 to 2006, including in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and amassed a 37–57 record. He previously held assistant coaching positions at Marshall 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 t ...
.
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 populat ...
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 Lafa ...
, where he attended New Iberia Senior High. He went on to college at Northeast Louisiana University.Player Bio: Chris Scelfo , Tulane University, retrieved June 27, 2010. He played football in high school and college, and was a three-year
letterwinner
In sports or activities in the United States, a letterman is a high school or college student who has met a specified level of participation or performance on a varsity team.
Overview
The term comes from the practice of awarding each such par ...
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 six ...
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 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 pu ...
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 ...
Brigham Young
Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his ...
. 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
The 2002 ConAgra Foods Hawaii Bowl was the inaugural Hawaii Bowl game and matched the hometown Hawaii Warriors with the Tulane Green Wave. Hawaii came into the game 10–3 and Tulane came into the game 7–5. The game was sponsored by ConAgra Foo ...
, 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 competes a ...
. 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 o ...
"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 Atlanta Falcons of the
NFL
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 major ...
hired Scelfo as its tight ends coach.
He later became the offensive line coach for the Charlotte 49ers 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
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 are ...
Scelfo is married to wife Nancy née Caldwell, with whom he has a son and a daughter. His brother,
Frank Scelfo
Frank Jude Scelfo (born February 9, 1959) is an American football coach who currently is the head coach at Southeastern Louisiana University. Scelfo was the offensive coordinator for the UTSA Roadrunners football team of the University of Texas ...
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 Ame ...
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 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 ...