Chris Rumph Position: Assistant Coach/Defensive Ends

Rumph Bio in PDF Format

• Defensive ends coach in his fifth season at Clemson. In each of his first four years, Clemson's defense finished in the top 25 in the nation in scoring defense and total defense.
• In his first four years at Clemson, the Tigers went to four bowl games and won 33 games, including a high of nine wins in 2007 and 2009. Clemson was ranked in at least one final poll both of those seasons.
• Has coached eight years at the Division I level and those teams have had winning seasons every year.
• Clemson was in the top 25 in the nation in seven defensive categories in 2009 and won the ACC Atlantic Division title.
• Coached Tiger defensive end Phillip Merling, who went on to be the #32 overall pick of the 2008 NFL draft by the Miami Dolphins. Merling, Rumph's nephew, had a strong rookie season with the Dolphins in 2008 after finishing in the top 10 in the ACC in sacks in 2007.
• Coached All-ACC defensive end Ricky Sapp, who was drafted in 2010 by the Philadelphia Eagles.
• Has ties to current Clemson Offensive Line Coach Brad Scott and former Clemson Head Coach Tommy West. He coached under Tommy West at Memphis and helped the team to three straight bowl games (2003-05). Memphis beat SEC-rival Mississippi in 2003 and 2004. Memphis was ninth in the nation in total defense in 2003.
• Helped the 2005 defense to finish 23rd in the nation in turnover margin and lead the league in rushing yards allowed per game (125.6), the 27th-best mark in the country. Memphis won 24 games in his three years there.
• Head coach at Calhoun County (SC) High School from 1997-01. He also served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks/running backs coach there.
• Four-time letterman at South Carolina (1991-94). He had 52 tackles in 11 regular-season games as a senior. In 1994 under Head Coach Brad Scott, he helped the team to a win over West Virginia in the Carquest Bowl, the first bowl victory in Gamecock history.