Winning in Lynchburg isn't an accident. It's a system. If you’ve watched a single Liberty University game over the last couple of seasons, you’ve seen it—that high-octane, triple-option-influenced spread that makes defensive coordinators lose sleep for weeks. But while the players are the ones scoring the touchdowns, the real story is sitting in the coaches' room. The Liberty football coaching staff is currently one of the most cohesive, high-ceiling groups in the Group of Five, and honestly, maybe in the entire country.
Jamey Chadwell didn’t just bring a playbook when he hopped over from Coastal Carolina. He brought a philosophy. He brought a specific brand of "speed option" football that requires a very particular type of teacher. You can’t just hire a standard offensive line coach and expect this to work. You need technicians. You need guys who understand the nuances of the "pistol" and the "triple" while keeping up with the modern speed of the FBS. It’s a delicate balance.
The Architect: Jamey Chadwell’s Vision
Chadwell is the face of the program, obviously. But to understand the Liberty football coaching staff, you have to look at how he delegates. He isn't a micromanager in the traditional sense, yet his fingerprints are on every single play call. People often forget that Chadwell was his own offensive coordinator for years. At Liberty, he has maintained that aggressive, "go for the throat" mentality that saw the Flames go undefeated in the 2023 regular season and land a spot in the Fiesta Bowl.
It’s about culture. He talks about "the brand" constantly. It sounds like corporate speak, but the players buy it. When you have a head coach who has won at every level—from North Greenville to Delta State to Charleston Southern—there’s a level of respect that’s just baked into the building. He knows the struggle. He’s not a blue-blood product who was handed a powerhouse; he built them.
Newby and the Defensive Identity
While the offense gets the headlines, Skylor Newby and the defensive side of the ball are what actually kept the Flames in the hunt during those tight 2024 midweek C-USA battles. The defense under this staff is built on one thing: takeaways. They don't mind giving up the occasional big play if it means they can bait a quarterback into a bad throw across the middle. It’s a high-risk, high-reward style that mirrors the offense.
Bryant Gross-Armiento, the cornerbacks coach, has become a bit of a recruiting sensation. If you follow the trail of high-level talent coming into Lynchburg, his name pops up a lot. He’s young, high-energy, and relates to the athletes in a way that some of the "old guard" coaches simply can't. That’s the secret sauce of this staff. They have a mix of grizzled veterans who know the X’s and O’s and young recruiters who can close deals in the NIL era.
Who Actually Runs the Offense?
Willy Korn. That’s the name you need to know.
📖 Related: Vince Carter Meme I Got One More: The Story Behind the Internet's Favorite Comeback
Korn and Chadwell are essentially joined at the hip. They’ve been together since the Coastal Carolina days, and Korn is widely considered one of the brightest young offensive minds in college football. He was a highly touted recruit himself back in the day (Clemson), so he understands the pressure these kids are under. As the Co-Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks coach, he’s the one in Kaidon Salter’s ear.
The relationship between a QB and his coach is everything in an option-based system. One wrong read and the play is dead. Korn’s ability to teach the "mesh point"—that split second where the QB decides to keep the ball or hand it off—is why Liberty’s rushing attack looks so effortless. It’s not effortless. It’s thousands of reps of muscle memory.
Newland Isaac also plays a massive role here as the other Co-OC. He handles the "heavy" lifting of the run game schemes. Having two guys share the OC title can sometimes lead to a "too many cooks in the kitchen" situation, but with this Liberty football coaching staff, it seems to create a fail-safe. They check each other. They challenge each other.
The Importance of the Offensive Line
You can't run the option without a mean streak upfront. Bill Durkin, the offensive line coach, is the guy tasked with making sure the Flames don't get bullied. In 2023 and 2024, Liberty’s O-line was consistently among the best in the nation in terms of yards per carry. Durkin coaches a very specific style of blocking—lots of movement, lots of pulling guards, and a requirement for his tackles to be as mobile as some tight ends.
- It’s about leverage.
- It’s about knowing when to cut-block and when to drive.
- It's about fitness.
If an O-line guy gets tired in the third quarter, the whole offense collapses. That’s why the strength and conditioning staff, led by Chad Scott, is basically an extension of the coaching unit. They don't just lift weights; they train for the specific explosive movements required by Chadwell’s scheme.
The "Support" Staff Isn't Just Support
We tend to focus on the guys with the "Coordinator" titles. But look at someone like Tony Washington (Wide Receivers). In a run-heavy system, wideouts often get bored. They become lazy blockers. Not at Liberty. Washington has instilled a "no block, no rock" policy. If you aren't out there pancaking a cornerback on a perimeter screen, you aren't getting the ball on the deep post later.
👉 See also: Finding the Best Texas Longhorns iPhone Wallpaper Without the Low-Res Junk
Then there's the special teams. It’s often the forgotten phase of the game until a missed field goal costs you a bowl game. Kyle Krantz brings a wealth of SEC experience to the table. Having a guy who coached at South Carolina and Missouri handling your special teams is a massive "cheat code" for a school in Conference USA. He brings a level of professional detail to punt coverage that most G5 schools just don't have.
Recruiting as a Staff Effort
Liberty’s facilities are incredible. We know that. The "Mountaineer" style campus and the indoor practice facility are big selling points. But facilities don't sign Letters of Intent. People do.
The Liberty football coaching staff has leaned heavily into the transfer portal, but they do it differently. They aren't just looking for stars; they are looking for "system fits." They want the guy who was buried on the depth chart at an ACC school who has the specific twitchiness needed for the spread-option.
Navigating the Coaching Carousel
Success breeds poaching. That’s the reality of college football. Every time Liberty wins 10 games, Power Four schools start calling. Chadwell’s name is linked to every major opening from South Carolina to Mississippi State.
What’s impressive is how he’s kept the core of his staff together. Stability is the most underrated stat in football. When the same coaches stay together for three, four, five years, they develop a shorthand. They don't need long meetings. They already know what the other is thinking. That’s the competitive advantage Liberty has over a lot of their peers who are replacing coordinators every twelve months.
Honestly, the continuity is probably why they survived the transition from the Hugh Freeze era so well. Usually, a coaching change results in a "rebuilding year." Liberty didn't rebuild. They reloaded. They took the existing talent, sprinkled in the Chadwell system, and actually improved their win totals.
✨ Don't miss: Why Isn't Mbappe Playing Today: The Real Madrid Crisis Explained
Dealing With the Critics
Let’s be real—people love to hate on Liberty. Because of the school’s unique position in the landscape of higher education, the football program is always under a microscope. The coaching staff has to deal with a lot of "outside noise."
They handle it by being incredibly boring in the media and incredibly exciting on the field. They embrace the "us against the world" mentality. Whether you like the school or not, you have to respect the tactical proficiency of this group. They aren't "gimmicky." They are efficient.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Analysts
If you're trying to track where this program is headed, don't just look at the scoreboard. Look at these three things:
- Assistant Retention: Keep an eye on Willy Korn. The day he leaves for a head coaching job is the day the offense faces its first real identity crisis. As long as he's there, the Flames are a lock for a top-25 rushing offense.
- The "Second Level" of Recruiting: Watch the three-star kids from Georgia and Florida. Liberty has carved out a niche in these states. If they continue to beat out lower-tier ACC and Big 12 schools for these players, the talent gap in C-USA will only widen.
- Red Zone Efficiency: Chadwell’s system thrives on the open field, but it can get cramped in the red zone. Watch how the staff adjusts their play-calling when the field shrinks. This is usually the mark of whether they can compete with the "big boys" in the playoffs.
The Liberty football coaching staff has built something sustainable. They’ve moved past the "independent" era and solidified themselves as the kings of their conference. It’s a masterclass in how to build a program through specific schematic identity and staff loyalty. If they can keep this group together for another two seasons, don't be surprised if they become a permanent fixture in the expanded College Football Playoff conversation.
To stay ahead of the curve, monitor the weekly press conferences for mentions of "alignment." In the Chadwell world, alignment between the administration, the head coach, and the assistants is the only thing that matters. So far, they are perfectly in sync.