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AUBURN, Ala.—Former Auburn football staffer and Group of Four head coach Chad Lunsford has been named special teams coordinator at Auburn, head coach Hugh Freeze announced Friday. Lunsford spent five seasons at Auburn from 2009-13 as director of player personnel and director of scouting before nine seasons at Georgia Southern, including three as head coach.

 

“Chad has not only been a successful special teams coach, but has also been a college head coach and brings a lot to the table,” Freeze said. “His experience and expertise will bolster our special teams. We are happy to welcome Chad and his family back to Auburn.”

 

Most recently, Lunsford was an associate head coach at Florida Atlantic where he was the special teams coordinator and coached tight ends for three seasons. He joined FAU in February of 2022 and was elevated to associate head coach in January of 2023. This past season he served as interim head coach during the final two games of the season.

 

“My family and I are super excited to be coming back to Auburn,” Lunsford said. “We are very thankful to Coach Freeze and the Auburn family for this opportunity. We understand what an honor it is to be a part of Auburn University, the Auburn football program, and the Auburn community. We look forward to seeing old friends and making new friends back on the Plains. Auburn is a special place for us, and we are ready to get to work. War Eagle!”

Lunsford joined FAU in February of 2022 and began working with a group of tight ends that had no starts at the collegiate level. That group contributed size for a line that cleared space for the program’s first 1,000-yard rusher in three seasons as well as contributing to pass protection and gathering 13 receptions.

 

On special teams, he mentored a group that was also new to starting nods as well as an Australian punter, who not only played his first season of American football but earned Freshman All-American recognition.

 

Kicker Morgan Suarez was ranked among the nation’s leaders in field goal percentage, field goals per game, and points responsible for, while punter Riley Thompson ended his season providing every punt for an average of 45.4 yards, ranking second among all CUSA punters and No. 12 nationally for that average. As units, the Owls were No. 14 in kickoff return defense and No. 21 in net punting.

 

In 2023, the Owls were ranked No. 4 nationally in punt returns, a 28-spot leap while the kick return unit moved up 36 spots. Punt returner LaJohntay Wester’s finished second nationally in punt return touchdowns and was a FWAA First Team All-American and Wester’s AAC Special Team Player of the Year and First Team AAC selection.

 

Lunsford, who arrived at Georgia Southern in 2013 as wide receivers coach, wore many hats during his time in Statesboro before being named the 10th full-time head coach in the modern era in November 2017. As head coach, he led the Eagles to three bowl appearances – and two victories – all in his first three full seasons at the helm.

In his first full season he led the Eagles to 10 wins, a win in the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl and engineered the nation’s largest turnaround with a 7.5-game improvement. For his accomplishments, he was named the Sun Belt Coach of the Year by Southern Pigskin. Twelve of his players earned all-conference honors and he even had two All-Americans.

 

In year two the Eagles won six of their final eight regular season games and qualified for a bowl game. Georgia Southern finished with seven wins, a win over No. 20 Appalachian State on the road and an appearance in the FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl. In all, 10 players earned all-conference honors and two players – Kindle Vildor and Tyler Bass – were selected in the NFL Draft and Donald Rutledge Jr. signed a free agent deal with Indianapolis.

 

In 2020, the Eagles won eight games, including a victory over Louisiana Tech in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. Nine Eagles earned all-conference honors with two of them being named All-Americans.

After working with the wide receivers in 2013, Lunsford worked two seasons with the tight ends and served as recruiting coordinator in 2014 and 2015. In 2017, Lunsford coached the Eagle slot receivers and H-backs and served in the role of special teams coordinator, a title he added in 2016, until his promotion to interim head coach in October 2017. He was named the program’s assistant head coach in 2017.

 

In 2016, Lunsford was named a Broyles Award nominee, given to the nation’s top assistant coach, as the Eagles blocked seven kicks and featured a Lou Groza Award finalist in Younghoe Koo, who earned Pro Bowl honors with the Atlanta Falcons in 2020.

 

On the recruiting side, Lunsford helped engineer signing classes which featured 22 players and ranked in the top half of the Sun Belt in 2015, also ranked near the top of the Sun Belt in 2014 and in 2016. The Class of 2018 was rated as the best in the Sun Belt by 247Sports. He was named the Sun Belt’s Best Recruiter in 2016 by Scout.

Georgia Southern’s wide receivers in 2013 led NCAA Division I with most yards per completion, averaging 19.3 yards per catch. Fourteen catches ranked among Georgia Southern’s big plays as the Eagle receiving corps contributed to one of the nation’s top offenses.

 

At Auburn, Lunsford served in consecutive roles as the Tigers’ director of scouting and director of player personnel, assisting with the day-to-day operations of Auburn football, with an emphasis on recruiting, organizing and prospect evaluation