The Samford Bulldogs are moving on from head coach Chris Hatcher. The Bulldogs are 1-9 overall and 1-7 in the SoCon entering the final two games. A double-digit loss season is almost assured with road games remaining versus Austin Peay and Texas A&M. Samford named Scot Sloan as the interim coach for the final two games.
Hatcher joined Samford as head coach in 2015 and had some early success. The team reached the FCS playoffs in his second and third seasons, receiving an at-large berth both times. After four mediocre seasons, Samford returned to the playoffs in 2022 with an excellent season. The Bulldogs won the Southern Confernece title and the league’s AQ bid to the FCS Playoffs. Samford was the sixth seed, and after an exciting 48-42 second round win against Southeastern Louisiana, reached the quarterfinals for the first time in three decades.
The Bulldogs lost that quarterfinal matchup to North Dakota State to finish 11-2 and have seen their fortunes only go downward from there. Samford went 6-5 in 2023, followed by a 4-7 campaign in 2024, and is now likely to finish 1-11. Hatcher went 62-59 overall and 47-40 in SoCon games at Samford in his 11 seasons.
Before joining Samford, Hatcher had been the head coach at three previous stops. In 2000, he took over his alma mater NCAA Division II Valdosta State Blazers. He coached at Valdosta State for seven seasons, leading them to six straight D-II playoff appearances to start his tenure. The Blazers reached the D-II Championship twice, finishing runner-up in 2002 and winning in 2004. VSU won four Gulf South Conference titles as well.
Hatcher then took over Georgia Southern for three seasons from 2007 through 2009. He went 18-15 overall and 12-11 in the SoCon. In 2010, he moved to Murray State, where he led them for five seasons. He went 27-30 overall and 17-25 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Hatcher is 52 years old and has compiled an overall record of 183-116 and is 132-82 in conference games.
Hatcher is the second FCS coach to be fired this season, following Southern’s dismissal of Terrence Graves last month. A tracker of the changes that will be occurring throughout the rest of the year and the offseason can be found here.
Photo Credit to Samford University Athletics
