LAFAYETTE (KATC) — The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. Who? There are Ragin’ Cajuns fans still learning about one of the Sun Belts newest members, and Saturday’s showdown at CajunField will be the the first time these two teams meet in football.
So who is this team? And what should you know?
Coastal Carolina isn’t a cookie cutter program and that goes from the top down. the Chanticleers have a CEO head coach, a slue of grad students and a spread option-offense run out of the pistol.
What’s a Chanticleer?
It’s a rooster. It’s pronounced SHON-ti-clear.
Who is head coach Joe Moglia?
Joe Moglia is a football coach turned Wall Street CEO turned football coach. Seriously. Moglia coached here and there for 15-years before trading in his playbook for a chance on Wall Street. He took a class, got a job at Merrill Lynch and years later he was named the CEO at TD Ameritrade. In 2008, Moglia stepped down from the company to pursue other interest and returned to coaching. He remains the company’s chairmen.
Moglia was hired in 2012 at Coastal Carolina. His record since is 53-16. He did not coach the school in 2017, the schools first football season in FBS and the Sun Belt due to health issues.
When Moglia talks, he makes an impression. Here is a clip from his Sun Belt Media Day press conference.
What’s this about a spread-option?
Coastal Carolina’s offense is old-school meets new. Their triple-option/spread is run out of an offset pistol formation. The team leads the Sun Belt through three weeks in rushing and is second in scoring. Seniors Marcus Outlow, Torrance Marable, and Kilton Anderson are all in the top-10 of the Sun Belt in rushing.
Is Coastal really stranded in Jacksonville?
Due to Hurricane Florence, Coastal Carolina has been living in a hotel in Jacksonville. The university is located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. More than 200 players, coaches and other staff members are together, along with some pets. The team traveled to Louisiana Friday and will stay in Baton Rouge until Saturday.