Colorado announces Chatham as defensive line coach

BOULDER — Colorado’s coaching staff is finalized… again.

The Buffs announced the hiring of defensive line coach Gerald Chatman on Monday, two days after news of the hiring first broke. Chatman, 33, was slated to be a defensive line coach for the first time in his career at Tulane. Instead, he’ll serve in that role at CU.

“Gerald is a young, passionate coach that is excited about joining our staff,” head coach Karl Dorrell said in a press release. “He will bring energy, skill development, interpersonal and leadership skills to mentor our young men. He has experience on the both the college and NFL levels, and I believe has a very bright future in our profession.”

The hiring comes just a week after defensive line coach Vic So’oto decided to leave Colorado’s staff for the same job at Cal. So’oto’s was hired in December but never signed a contract to coach in Boulder while working in the role for two months.

While Chatman has never served as a position coach at the FBS or NFL before, he’s worked with defensive linemen on staffs across the NFL and college ranks. Most recently, he was a defensive analyst at LSU and he was offered the same role when Brian Kelly took over the program in December. Prior to that, he was the assistant defensive line coach for the Cincinnati Bengals. He’s also worked at Tennessee State (defensive ends and linebackers coach, and special teams coordinator), Texas A&M (grad assistant), Butler (defensive line coach and assistant recruiting coordinator) and Ball State (grad assistant).

“My family and I are excited to be a part of the CU and the football program under the leadership of coach Dorrell and athletic director Rick George,” Chatman said in the release. “It is clear that a great foundation has been built under their leadership and I look forward to getting to work, leading and maximizing the potential of those I get to work with daily. I am excited to get to work.”