Garret Chachere serves as WKU's running backs coach, a post he assumed in January 2019. A veteran of Power Five programs, he has coached against some of the game's legendary head coaches in some of the most hallowed stadiums in college football. Over a dozen of Chachere's former pupils have gone on to play professionally in the NFL.
Chachere (pronounced ‘SASH-uh-RAY’) came to The Hill following a one-year stint at Southeastern Louisiana where he served as passing game coordinator and running backs coach. In his lone season, Chachere’s top two running backs, Devonte Williams and Darren Johnson, both earned All-Southland Conference honors.
A former offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator, Chachere has coached every position except offensive line during his career. He has coached several positions on both sides of the ball during his career as a collegiate coach, including six different positions for teams that have reached postseason play. Chachere's pupils include all-conference performers on offense, defense and special teams. Former running backs and linebackers from his groups have been drafted and are active in the NFL and CFL.
Chachere has also coached on staffs with eight future NFL quarterbacks, including Super Bowl LII MVP Nick Foles and first overall pick Jared Goff. He also coached former University of Arizona running back Ka'deem Carey, a two-time consensus All-American, a two-time Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year and Chicago Bears draft pick.
Chachere also recruited former Chicago Bear great, running back Matt Forte, to Tulane. Forte was selected in the second round of the NFL Draft by Chicago, and after nine seasons with the Bears he left as the second-leading rusher in franchise history, only behind Walter Payton. Forte played in the 2011 and 2013 NFL Pro Bowls.
Prior to SLU, Chachere was the offensive coordinator at New Mexico Highlands University for the 2017 season. NMHU was one of the select few teams in Division II to average over 5.0 yards a carry. The Cowboys improved almost 100 spots in the national rankings in total offense, passing offense and rushing offense from the previous season. After Chachere's term at NMHU, his offense owned the top two spots in the single-game record books with 727 yards vs. Adams State and 596 yards vs. Black Hills State.
Chachere showed his coaching versatility in his four seasons on the coaching staff at the University of California, including the final two as Associate Head Coach. He was the Golden Bears’ running back coach in 2016. He coached the linebackers in 2014 and 2015 at Cal, after opening his tenure in Berkeley as the defensive ends coach in 2013.
Cal capped its 2015 season with its first bowl victory since 2008 in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl with the spot in postseason play its first since 2011. Cal improved its rushing yardage per-game average with Chachere immediately in his first season as the running backs coach, as future Tennessee Titan NFL Draft pick Khalfani Muhammad and Tre Watson both posted career-high rushing totals.
Chachere also coached future NFL linebackers Hardy Nickerson, Jr. and Devonte Downs while at Cal. Nickerson, Jr. was an All-Pac 12 selection for the first time in his playing career under Chachere. He was also named Cal's defensive MVP after recording 112 tackles. His linebackers represented three of the top four tacklers on the team in 2014.
The 2015 defense helped the Bears to their first eight-win season since 2009 and a win in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl. The defense improved in every category from the previous season, including allowing 9.1 less points per game than the previous season.
Chachere spent the 2012 campaign at Southern Miss as the Golden Eagles’ special teams coordinator and inside receivers coach, after spending three seasons on the offensive staff at the University of Arizona. He was the running backs coach for the Wildcats in 2011, after spending the 2009 and 2010 seasons as the wide receivers coach.
His first two seasons in Arizona saw the Wildcats compete in the Holiday and Alamo Bowls. The 2010 Wildcats featured the nation’s ninth-ranked passing offense, as Chachere’s charges, David Douglas (52 passes, 515 cards, five touchdowns) and David Roberts (44-487), were standouts for Arizona.
Chachere oversaw one of the nation’s top special team units during the 2007 and 2008 seasons at Memphis. Both of his campaigns with the Tigers ended with Memphis competing in bowl games – the 2007 New Orleans Bowl and 2008 St. Petersburg Bowl.
From 1999-2006, Chachere was the linebackers coach at Tulane and the punt return coordinator for his first five seasons with the Green Wave; his 2002 punt return unit finished No. 1 in the country. He mentored Anthony Cannon, a 2006 NFL Draft selection by the Detroit Lions. A first team All-Conference USA performer as a senior, Cannon posted four straight 100-tackle seasons under Chachere’s tutelage and ranked third all-time on the league’s career tackles list at the end of his Green Wave career. Prior to departing Tulane for Memphis, Chachere recruited running back Matt Forte to the school.
Chachere played for the Green Wave in 1987 and 1988 and was a member of the 1987 Independence Bowl team under then-head coach Mack Brown. A 1992 graduate of Tulane, the New Orleans native and Brother Martin High School alum earned his bachelor’s degree in communication.
THE GARRET CHACHERE FILE
PERSONAL
Hometown: New Orleans, La.
College: Tulane, ‘92
PLAYING CAREER
College: Tulane (1987-88)
COACHING CAREER
1992: Cheyney (Defensive Backs/Running Backs)
1993: Bloomsburg (Defensive Backs)
1994: Bucknell (Defensive Backs/Special Teams Coordinator)
1995: Nicholls (Linebackers)
1998: ULM (Tight Ends/Wide Receivers)
1999-03: Tulane (Linebackers/Punt Return Coordinator)
2004-06: Tulane (Linebackers)
2007-08: Memphis (Special Teams Coordinator)
2009-10: Arizona (Wide Receivers)
2011: Arizona (Running Backs)
2012: Southern Miss (Inside Receivers/Special Teams Coordinator)
2013: California (Defensive Line)
2014-15: California (Linebackers)
2016: California (Running Backs)
2017: New Mexico Highlands (Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks)
2018: Southeastern Louisiana (Running Backs/Passing Game Coordinator)
2019: WKU (Running Backs)
