Chris Naeole

Christopher Kealoha Naeole ([nəeˈolɛ]; born December 25, 1974) is a former American football coach and player. He played college football as an offensive guard for the University of Colorado, where he was recognized as an All-American in 1996 and was drafted tenth overall by the New Orleans Saints in the 1997 NFL Draft. Naeole also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars prior to becoming a high school football coach by 2010, later serving as the offensive line coach for the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.

Chris Naeole
refer to caption
Naeole in 2014
No. 65
Position:Guard
Personal information
Born: (1974-12-25) December 25, 1974
Kailua, Hawaii, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:328 lb (149 kg)
Career information
High school:Kahuku (Kahuku, Hawaii)
College:Colorado
NFL Draft:1997 / Round: 1 / Pick: 10
Career history
As a player:
As a coach:
  • ʻIolani (HI) HS (2010–2012)
    Defensive line coach
  • Hawaii (2013–2015)
    Offensive line coach
  • Hawaii (2015)
    Interim head coach
  • Hawaii (2015–2017)
    Offensive line coach
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played:154
Games started:150
Fumbles recovered:5
Head coaching record
Regular season:1–3 (.250) (College)
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Early years

Naeole was born in Kailua, Hawaii. He attended Kahuku High School in Kahuku, Hawaii, and earned two letters in football and one in wrestling. In football, he was a high school All-America first-team selection by Prep Football Report, and received second-team accolades from Blue Chip Report and an honorable mention from USA Today as a senior. As a two-way tackle, he made 56 tackles, five sacks, eight passes deflected, four forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries as a senior.

College career

Naeole attended the University of Colorado-Boulder, where he was a three-year starter for the Colorado Buffaloes football team at right guard. In three seasons, he allowed only one sack. As a senior in 1996, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American and was an All-Big 12 Conference first-team selection. Naeole was the recipient of the John Mack Award, given to the team's Most Outstanding Offensive Player. He graduated from the university with a degree in sociology.

Professional career

1997 NFL Draft

Naeole was drafted tenth overall in the 1997 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints.[1] Retrieved February 2, 2012.</ref> He was the highest selected guard since Eric Moore in 1988, and the first Colorado offensive lineman selected in the first round since Stan Brock was drafted by the Saints in 1980.

New Orleans Saints

On July 17, 1997, Naeole signed a five-year, $8 million deal with the New Orleans Saints, and soon afterwards bought a 4,000-square-foot house in Metairie, Louisiana.[2] He played for the team through 2001, and was a starter throughout his time with the Saints.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Naeole was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an unrestricted free agent in 2002. In Week 8 of the 2007 season he suffered a torn quadriceps tendon and was placed on injured reserve. Until this injury, Naeole had missed only one game in his 11 years as a pro, and had started 150 of 154 games in his pro career.[3]

On March 3, 2008, Naeole was released by the Jaguars. He was re-signed on September 17 but did not play again. Naeole later indicated in 2010 that he had retired from professional football.[4]

Coaching career

Naeole was hired as an assistant football coach for ʻIolani School in Honolulu.[4] He began his duties in the 2010 season. After three years with 'Iolani, Naeole was named the offensive line coach for the Hawaii Warriors.[5] On November 1, 2015, Naeole was named Hawaii's interim head coach following the firing of Norm Chow and finished the season with a 1–3 record.[6]

Naeole was retained as offensive line coach by new Hawaii head coach Nick Rolovich.[7] On October 6, 2017, Naeole resigned, due to what he called "philosophical differences with the handling of disciplinary matters in the program."[8]

Head coaching record
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (Mountain West Conference) (2015)
2015 Hawaii 1–3[n 1]0–36th (West)
Hawaii: 1–30–3
Total:1–3
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

Notes
  1. Served as interim head coach after Norm Chow was fired after the team's 58–7 loss to Air Force.

References
  1. "1997 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
  2. "Kahuku's Naeole signs for $8 million". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. July 17, 1997.
  3. Chris Naeole Archived June 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Jacksonville Jaguars bio
  4. Tsai, Stephen (June 18, 2010). "Naeole returns home, retired, set for new role". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Archived from the original on 2010-06-22. Retrieved June 18, 2010.
  5. Tsai, Stephen (2013-02-13). "Naeole joins UH staff". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  6. "Chow let go by University of Hawaii". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  7. "Rolovich adds four to Rainbow Warriors coaching staff". 31 December 2015.
  8. Tsai, Stephen (October 6, 2017). "Naeole resigns as UH offensive line coach". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
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