No Oregon defensive coordinator in history has had more to work with than new DC Chris Hampton, who took over officially today from departed Cal head coach Tosh Lupoi.
Since coming to the Ducks in 2023 from Tulane, Hampton's recruited Brandon Finney, Na'eem Offord, Trey McNutt, Ify Obidegwu, Aaron Flowers, Jett Washington and Davon Benjamin to improve the size and athleticism in the secondary.
The Ducks got tremendous news this week as Matayo Uiagalelei, Teitum Tuioti, Bear Alexander and A'Mauri Washington all decided to pass up the NFL draft, returning to the Oregon defensive line for another year. Then they picked up Koi Perich from Minnesota, the No. 1 safety in the portal
As defensive coordinator at Tulane in 2021 and 2022, Hampton coached a Top 25 unit. The Green Wave held opponents to 5.0 yards per play in '22, ranking 23rd.
Strong linebacker play spearheaded that unit. Dorian Williams ranked 10th in the nation with 131 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and five sacks, while Nick Anderson tied for 27th with 110. Williams made first team all-ACC. The league's coaches tabbed Anderson for the second team, along with defensive linemen Darius Hodges and Patrick Jenkins.
Hampton an ace recruiter and a former four-year letterman in the SEC
As a position coach Hampton excelled at developing leadership and communication. "I think the first thing a safety has to be able to do is get the defense lined up," he said in April 2023.
"So we've got to be great communicators. Every day I'm challenging them to improve in that area. I think we're getting better and better. We've got to do a great job of communicating first, and then we've got to be able to tackle when the ball spits."
He will field a defense that plays downhill and with relentless energy, attacking and aggressive. At Tulane, head coach Willie Fritz took a hands-off approach to the defense, trusting the then 36-year-old from Memphis to run it his way. They won 12 games in 2022, American Conference Champions, beating USC 45-45 in the Cotton Bowl.
He took a demotion to come to Oregon to become secondary coach and co-defensive coordinator. "I'm 37. I was 36 when I came. I think I've got a long career [in front of me], and I just want to grow and learn. There's always opportunities to learn. I think that's invaluable. I wanted to come here and just learn," he said.
Hampton's a leader, a teacher. He's the perfect guy to unleash a talented defense and get them to play with abandon and trust each other. His recruiter successes mark him as a shrewd evaluator of talent.
He's a communicator who graduated from the Gamecocks with a degree in criminology. The goal is to get Oregon's great athletes to understand the scheme and play to the limit of their fearsome athletic ability. Expect the havoc rate to take a climb. Hampton has a thorough understanding of X's and O's, and like Lupoi he's a tireless worker.
Over the next eight weeks or so the Ducks will be looking to add some pieces for depth, plus a green dot linebacker. The new DC will know what to do with them. The goal is next year's National Championship Game at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.