Buffaloes make another staff addition, as Rod Chance is named CBs coach
Karl Dorrell has had himself a busy month of December, hiring a total of four new assistant coaches in the final month of 2021.
On Thursday, Dorrell tapped Vic So'ota as CU's new defensive line coach and just about a day later, it was announced that he'd hired Rod Chance, formerly of Oregon, to oversee the Buffs' cornerbacks.
Chance, 37, joins the Buffs after spending the last two seasons with Oregon, coaching in the same capacity.
His addition to the fold certainly provides a bit of ironic coincidence, considering that only recently, the Buffaloes lost their own corners coach, Demetrice Martin, to the Ducks.
A week later, Dorrell completed the flip flop, hiring Oregon's most recent cornerbacks coach.
“Rod comes to us as a coach that can develop our corners and impact our defense right away,” Dorrell said in a statement Friday. “He is known as a developer, a strong recruiter and has the defensive knowledge to help our secondary improve and play at a high level.”
Prior to tkaing charge of Oregon's corners room, Chance coached Minnesota's cornerbacks in 2019, and from 2016-17, served as Southern Utah's defensive coordinator.
He and Dorrell crossed paths in 2014, when the latter was Vanderbilt's offensive coordinator and Chance was with the Commodores as a defensive quality control coach.
Chance was with Vanderbilt from 2013-15, and later served as a secondary coach for the Ducks in 2018.
His first coaching stop came in 2009, when he was the receivers/defensive backs/special teams coach at Alpharetta High School in Georgia, a position he held through 2012.
Chance broke into the college ranks in 2013, when he coached Rhode Island's cornerbacks for a season.
While in Eugene in 2020, Chance oversaw the development of Mykael Wright, who went on to earn first-team All-Pac-12 from the Associated Press and the league's coaches as well as Deommodore Lenoir, who earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors from the AP.
“I’m excited and privileged to join such a great staff of good people,” Chance said. “I am looking forward to get right to work and help the foundation that’s being built in Boulder."
"At Vanderbilt, I had the privilege of learning and developing under Coach Dorrell and Coach (Brett) Maxie (CU’s secondary coach) and it’s exciting to be reuniting with them. I want to thank coach and athletic director Rick George for having the faith in me for this opportunity.”
With Chance's addition to Colorado's staff, the Buffs currently have 11 assistants, one more than is allowed by FBS programs.
How the Buffaloes get down to 10 coaches remains to be seen. Dorrell, in theory, could shuffle the responsibilities of his staff around somewhat, or choose not to retain a coach.
