Former All-Southeastern Conference linebacker Jamar Chaney is in his second year as Baylor's inside linebackers coach. He was announced in the role on Feb. 28, 2024.
Chaney came to Waco after serving as an assistant coach at Western Kentucky in 2023, working with the outside linebackers. He previously spent the 2022 season as an analyst and recruiting coordinator at Florida, working with the linebackers, which followed two seasons at his alma mater, Mississippi State, as a senior defensive analyst. He was the assistant director of player personnel, focusing on high school relations at Florida in 2019.
Chaney’s impact on the Bears was immediate in 2024, helping Baylor win eight games and advance to the Texas Bowl. Baylor ripped of six straight wins to conclude the regular-season, the longest such streak in program history.
His inside linebacker unit was historic, led by the dynamic duo of Matt Jones and Keaton Thomas. The pair combined for 227 tackles, with each eclipsing 110 stops, marking the first linebacker duo with 100+ tackles in a season since 2010. The pair earned first-team All-Big 12 honors. Jones broke out with 113 tackles, 9.5 for a loss, four sacks, six pass break-ups, five QB hurries and one forced fumble. His running mate, Thomas, made a splashing Baylor debut with a team-high 114 tackles, with seven for a loss, 2.5 sacks, one interception and three QB hurries.
In his season in Bowling Green, Ky., Chaney helped lead WKU to an 8-5 record and a 5-3 mark in Conference USA. The Toppers won three consecutive games to end the year, including a 38-35 overtime win over Old Dominion in the Toastery Bowl. Chaney coached all-conference linebacker Jaques Evans and Kylan Guidry, who led the Hilltoppers in tackles, and Freshman All-Conference USA selection Koron Hayward.
Chaney comes to Baylor having played and coached under some veteran coaching minds, including Tyson Helton (WKU), Billy Napier (Florida), Mike Leach (Mississippi State), Dan Mullen (Mississippi State) and Sylvester Croom (Mississippi State), Andy Reid (Philadelphia Eagles), Sean McDermott (Eagles), Todd Bowles (Eagles).
In 2022, Chaney was an analyst at Florida, working as the recruiting coordinator and with the linebackers. The Gators routed No. 7 Utah and appeared in the Las Vegas Bowl in Napier’s first season in Gainesville. He helped coach Ventrell Miller, an eventual fourth-round pick in the NFL Draft, and sixth-round selection Amari Barney, in addition to Freshman All-SEC linebacker Shemar James.
It marked his second stint on the UF staff, which included an 11-2 season and an Orange Bowl win over Virginia in 2019, a season that saw him serve as the assistant director of player personnel.
He was a senior analyst at Mississippi State in 2020 and 2021 under Leach. The Bulldogs earned a spot in the 2021 Liberty Bowl, MSU’s 12th straight season reaching a bowl game. The 2021 season included a win over No. 15 Texas A&M in College Station and a 31-17 win over No. 12 Kentucky in Starkville. He assisted in the development of MSU All-SEC linebackers Nathaniel Watson and Jett Johnson in 2021. In 2020, the Dawgs reached the Armed Forces Bowl, capping the season with a win over No. 22 Tulsa.
Chaney had a decorated playing career in Starkville, Miss., starring at weakside and middle linebacker in the Magnolia State. He earned All-SEC honors after going for 89 tackles in 2007, leading MSU to eight wins. He played in 49 total games from 2005-09 with 286 career tackles and in 2009, Rivals ranked Chaney as the most underrated player in the SEC.
He went on to earn South Team Defensive Player of the Game honors in the 2010 Senior Bowl, leading to a selection by the Eagles in the NFL Draft. Chaney saw time in the NFL with the Eagles, Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders.
Chaney is a native of Fort Pierce, Fla., and he and his wife, Shamira, have four children, Rhaelyn, Eli, Leo and Teo.
Chaney File
2024-25: Assistant Coach/Inside Linebackers – Baylor
2023: Assistant Coach/Outside Linebackers – Western Kentucky
2022: Analyst/Recruiting/Linebackers – Florida
2020-21: Senior Defensive Analyst/Linebackers – Mississippi State
2019: Assistant Director of Player Personnel/High School Relations – Florida
2016-18: Head Coach – St. Lucie West Centennial [Fla.] High School
