Tulane's Scelfo Names Coaching Staff
Jun 21, 1999 | Football
January 25, 1999
New Orleans - Tulane Head Football Coach Chris Scelfo Monday announced eight members of his first Green Wave coaching staff, four of which have extensive ties to Louisiana.
Scelfo has assigned assistant head coach Frank Scelfo (quarterbacks), recruiting cooordinator Joe Dickinson (runningbacks), Trooper Taylor (wide receivers), Don Mahoney (offensive line) and David Oliver (tight ends/assistant offensive line) to the offensive side of the ball.
Tulane's defense will be directed by Pete McGinnis, who will also coach inside linebackers. Garret Chachere handles outside linebackers and defensive ends, while the secondary has been assigned to former Nicholls State head coach Darren Barbier.
"It was important for me to find men who would be players' coaches," said Scelfo. "Each of these men have one common goal, and that is the success of the student-athlete. Tulane's reputation is very strong, and our staff represents everything that is positive about our university."
"I have one more position to fill, but my main concern right now is to finish what we feel will be an outstanding recruiting class. We'll have plenty of time to fill that last coaching spot after signing day (Feb. 3)."
Frank Scelfo, Chris Scelfo's older brother, recently completed his third season at Tulane, during which he helped lead the Green Wave to a perfect 12-0 record. A 15-year coaching veteran of Louisiana and Texas, he served as Tulane's recruiting coordinator during the 1996-98 seasons.
Dickinson brings over 15 years of major college coaching experience to Tulane. Most recently, he served one year as offensive coordinator at Oklahoma and coached the Sooner runner backs for three seasons. As Northern Illinois' offensive coordinator from 1991-95, Dickinson mentored 1993's national rushing leader LeShon Johnson, who finished the season with 1,976 yards.
Taylor spent the past season as running backs coach at New Mexico. Prior to that, he spent six seasons at his alma mater, Baylor, coaching wideouts and defensive backs.
Mahoney worked at Central Michigan for four seasons, coaching the Chippewa offensive line and tight ends. He also played for and worked with Chris Scelfo at Marshall, where the two helped lead the Thundering Herd to the 1992 I-AA National Championship.
Oliver, a two-time Division II All-American at Northern Colorado, spent the last two seasons as a graduate assistant at Tulane, working closely with the Wave offensive line.
Since beginning his I-A coaching career at Alabama in 1986, McGinnis has spent seven years as a major college defensive coordinator, three at Tulsa (1989-91) and four at Arkansas State (1992-95). He spent the last three seasons at Oklahoma, serving as linebackers coach (1996-97) and special teams coordinator (1997-98). Prior to joining the college ranks, McGinnis served as a high school coach for 10 years in the states of Alabama, Kansas and Georgia.
Barbier worked miracles as head coach at Nicholls, taking the Colonels from an 0-11 record in 1995 to the I-AA playoffs in 1996. For his efforts, Barbier was given the Eddie Robinson Award as the I-AA National Coach of the Year. Prior to working at Nicholls, Barbier spent six seasons as head coach at Hahnville (La.) High School, where he led the Tigers to a 15-0 record and the Class 5A state title in 1994.
Chachere, a graduate Brother Martin High School in New Orleans, comes to Tulane from Northeast Louisiana, where he worked with the linebackers. He also spent two seasons as an assistant at Nicholls State, where he worked under fellow Wave assistant Barbier.
