The Clemson Board of Trustees Monday morning approved contracts for head football coach Dabo Swinney’s two new hires. Swinney is bringing in former Ole Miss head coach and former Georgia offensive line coach Matt Luke to be his offensive line coach, and he is rehiring Chris Rumph as defensive ends coach. Rumph has been with the Minnesota Vikings.
Luke replaces Thomas Austin and Rumph Lemanski Hall. Those two were fired by Swinney last week after the conclusion of an 8-4 regular season. Luke unexpectedly resigned at Georgia in February of 2022 to spend more time with his family. Rumph has been on a personal leave of absence from the Vikings since the third week of October.
In terms of compensation, Luke will be paid $975,000 in 2024, $1.1 million in 2025 and $1.2 million in 2026. Rumph will make $950,000 in 2024 and $1 million in 2025 before his salary ramps up to $1.1 million in 2026. Those figures will make the Luke the seventh-highest paid offensive line coach and Rumph will be the sixth-highest paid defensive line coach.
Here’s more on Luke from his final Georgia bio:
Matt Luke, joined the Georgia staff in December, 2019, after serving the previous two years as head coach at Ole Miss.
In 2020, Luke was part of a staff that led Georgia to its fourth consecutive top 10 finish in the final CFP rankings and fourth straight New Year’s Six Bowl game (Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl victory). The 2020 senior class won 44 games—tied for most in school history. In 2020, he coached first team All-SEC OT Ben Cleveland and All-SEC freshman team OT Warren McClendon.
On the field as an assistant coach, coordinator, and head coach prior to coming to UGA, Luke mentored 42 All-League selections as well as 27 NFL draft picks, including first-round selections Laremy Tunsil of Ole Miss and Laken Tomlinson of Duke.
Before coming to Georgia, Luke had built a long history of coaching the offensive line at Ole Miss, Duke, Tennessee, and Murray State in addition to serving as co-offensive coordinator at both Duke and Ole Miss.
In his first year as head coach at Ole Miss, Luke faced the daunting challenge of taking over the team just a week before 2017 fall camp. The Rebels responded by posting a 6-6 record, winning three of their final four games. After the regular season, capped by a road victory over Mississippi State in the annual Egg Bowl game, the “interim” tag was removed from his title.
Luke also made waves in the world of recruiting while in Oxford. His first two recruiting classes as a head coach ranked in the top 25 nationally. As the offensive line coach with the Rebels, Luke was ranked eighth amongst recruiters in 2016 by 247Sports.
The head coaching post was the fourth separate stint at his alma mater, including his four-year career as a player. Prior to taking over as interim head coach, Luke spent five seasons as the team’s co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. During his first stop in Oxford (2002-05), Luke served four seasons coaching the Ole Miss tight ends and offensive line under head coach David Cutcliffe.
Luke’s association with Cutcliffe continued at his next two stops: at Tennessee (2006-07) and Duke (2008-11). During Luke’s two years in Knoxville, the Vols went 19-8 with one SEC East title and two appearances in the Outback Bowl. In 2007, Tennessee tight end Chris Brown caught 41 passes for 282 yards and six touchdowns while fellow end Brad Cottam’s 31-yard touchdown reception proved to be the difference in the UT’s win over Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl. On the recruiting front, Tennessee’s 2007 class was rated third-best nationally by Rivals.com and fourth best in the country by Scout.com.
Luke then spent four seasons in Durham, where his offensive line ranked among the ACC’s top five in fewest sacks allowed throughout his tenure, including finishing third in 2009 and 2010.
Luke returned to Oxford in time for the 2012 season as Co-Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line coach. In 2013, Luke helped oversee a Rebel offense that broke the then-school record for total offense (473.3 ypg). The Rebels ranked third in the SEC in passing offense (283.3 ypg) and fifth in total offense, while finishing top 25 in the NCAA in both categories. Having to replace three starters due to graduation, Luke helped the 2014 Rebel squad rank seventh in the SEC in total offense (419.1 ypg) and yards per play (6.0). The offensive line also helped the Rebels rank fifth in the SEC and 37th nationally in passing offense (263.6 ypg).
In 2015, Ole Miss set program records for scoring (531), touchdowns (68), total offense (6,731), passing yards (4,351) and passing touchdowns (35), among others. The Rebels led the SEC and were top 10 nationally in scoring (40.8), total offense (517.8 ypg) and passing (334.7 ypg).
Luke’s prized pupils during this time were Tunsil, who earned All-SEC honors twice and was taken in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft, and Fahn Cooper, who was drafted by San Francisco the next year. Tunsil was one of just two true freshmen in the country to earn full-time starting status. Both linemen collected the Kent Hull Trophy, sponsored by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, which goes annually to the state’s outstanding offensive lineman.
Luke lettered four seasons (1995-98) as a center at Ole Miss. A starter in 33 career games for the Rebels, he served as team captain in 1998 as the Rebels posted a 7-5 ledger and defeated Texas Tech in the Independence Bowl.
After his playing career, Luke was a student assistant coach at Ole Miss in 1999, and he graduated in May 2000 with a degree in business administration. His coaching career began on a full-time basis leading the offensive line corps at Murray State in 2000-01.
Luke is married to the former Ashley Grantham of Oxford, Miss., and the couple has two sons, Harrison (born Feb. 18, 2008) and Cooper (born July 20, 2011). Luke’s brother Tom played quarterback at Ole Miss from 1989-91 while their father, Tommy, was a defensive back for the Rebels from 1964-66.
Luke Thumbnail
Birthdate: October 29, 1976
Birthplace: Gulfport, Mississippi
Family: Wife Ashley, sons Harrison (2/18/08) and Cooper (7/20/11)
High School: Gulfport HS
College: Ole Miss, 2000 (B.A. in Business Administration)
Coaching Experience:
1999……………………………………..Ole Miss (Graduate Asst.)
2000-01………………………..Murray State (Asst. Coach / OL)
2002-05…………………….Ole Miss (Asst. Coach / OL & TEs)
2006-07…………..Tennessee (Recruiting Coord. / TEs / OL)
2008-11………………………..Duke (Co-Offensive Coord. / OL)
2012-16…………………..Ole Miss (Co-Offensive Coord. / OL)
2017-19…………………………………. …Ole Miss (Head Coach)
2019-Present…………Georgia (Associate Head Coach / OL)
Playing Experience:
1995-98………………………………………………………… Ole Miss
33-game starter at Center for the Rebels;
Team Captain as a senior in 1998; twice earned Academic All-SEC honors.
Here’s more on Rumph from his Minnesota bio:
Chris Rumph enters his second season with the Minnesota Vikings and fourth overall in the NFL as defensive line coach. He previously spent the 2021 season as the defensive line coach for the Chicago Bears.
In 2022, Rumph helped DL Dalvin Tomlinson force his second career fumble and fumble recovery, marking the first time Tomlinson has registered both in a single season. He also helped both Tomlinson and DL Harrison Phillips to each notch career highs in solo tackles, with Tomlinson recording eight in Week 14 and Phillips totaling six in Week 11. Phillips also played a career-high 664 defensive snaps, and tallied a career-high 59 total tackles on the season.
During his college coaching career, he worked with 25 NFL draft picks, including three first-round selections (DE Gaines Adams, DT Taven Bryan, DT Malcom Brown) and one Pro Bowler (S Quandre Diggs).
In the 2021 season, Rumph’s second in the NFL, Chicago registered 49 sacks on the season, fourth-most in the league. Additionally, Chicago’s defense limited opponents to a third-down conversion rate of 42.1%, which ranked second in the NFL behind the Buffalo Bills (40.7%).
He entered the professional coaching ranks as outside linebackers coach for the Houston Texans in 2020.
Prior to joining the 2020 Texans staff, Rumph spent two seasons as the co-defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach at the University of Tennessee. In 2018, his first season with the team, the Vols defense was one of the most improved in the FBS, jumping 74 spots in run defense with opponents rushing for nearly 100 fewer yards per game than in 2017. Under the guidance of Rumph, 2020 NFL Draft pick Darrell Taylor emerged as a standout player in 2018, leading the Vols in both sacks (8.0), tackles for loss (11.0), forced fumbles (3) and fumble recoveries (2) en route to Team MVP honors. Taylor earned Bednarik National Player of the Week, Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week and SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors after his four-sack performance in the win over No. 12 Kentucky. Taylor’s four-sack effort was only the third in Tennessee history. Additionally, Taylor recorded 3.0 sacks and two forced fumbles to go along with six tackles at Georgia. He was one of two Power-5 players with multiple three-sack games in 2018.
He served as the defensive line coach for the University of Florida in 2015 before being promoted to co-defensive coordinator prior to the 2017 season, and served as full-time defensive coordinator for the final four games of the season after Randy Shannon was promoted to interim head coach. Under Rumph’s direction in 2016, Florida ranked fifth in the SEC in rushing defense (114.5 ypg) and finished fourth in the conference in sacks with 31. The 2015 Gators team was one of the nation’s best at getting to the quarterback, registering 40 sacks, which ranked fifth nationally and tied for the sixth highest in school history. During his tenure in Gainsville, Rumph produced a host of talent along the defensive line, including five NFL draft picks – Taven Bryan (2018), Caleb Brantley (2017), Joey Ivie (2017), Alex McCalister (2016) and Jonathan Bullard (2016).
Before heading to Florida, Rumph spent one season at Texas as the program’s assistant head coach for defense/defensive line. Under Rumph’s mentorship, the Longhorns had one of the nation’s top defensive lines and ranked 12th in the country with 40 sacks. Texas finished the season ranked 26th in the FBS in total defense (348.5 ypg). The Longhorns 2014 defense was led by DT Malcom Brown, who was a consensus All-American and a finalist for the Nagurski and Outland Trophies. Brown was selected in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. Fellow DT Hassan Ridgeway also had a big season for the Longhorns, ranking second on the team with 6.0 sacks – which also ranked second among defensive tackles in the Big 12 – and 11 tackles for loss. Ridgeway was a fourth-round pick by the Indianapolis Colts in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Rumph spent three seasons as defensive line coach for Nick Saban at Alabama from 2011-13 and was part of the Crimson Tide’s back-to-back BCS national championship teams in 2011 and 2012. During his time in Tuscaloosa, Rumph also coached Vikings defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson in 2013, prior to him being selected in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Alabama ranked fifth nationally in total defense (286.5 yards per game) in 2013 and seventh in rush defense (106.2 yards per game). Defensive end Ed Stinson earned All-SEC Second-Team accolades for the Tide.
The Crimson Tide featured the country’s top-ranked scoring, total and rushing defense in 2012, allowing just 10.9 points per game, 250.0 yards per game and 76.4 yards rushing per game. Alabama’s stifling defense saved its best performance for last as the Tide shut out top-ranked LSU in the national title game by a score of 21-0. Alabama surrendered just five first downs and allowed LSU to cross the 50-yard line just once the entire game. Alabama’s 2011 defense was one of the most dominant in the history of college football.
The Crimson Tide allowed just 8.2 points per game and gave up 183.6 total yards per contest, the fewest by an FBS team in records dating to 1996. Alabama also led the country in passing defense (111.5 ypg) and rushing defense (72.2 ypg).
The 2011 team featured five players along the defensive line that would end up being drafted by NFL teams: NT Josh Chapman, DE Quinton Dial, DT Jesse Williams, DE Jeoffrey Pagan and DE Ed Stinson. Chapman earned All-SEC Second-Team honors that season. In total, Rumph coached six NFL Draft picks on the defensive line during his three-year stint with the Crimson Tide.
Rumph was hired as Clemson’s defensive line coach in 2006, serving in the role until 2009 when he focused solely on the Tigers’ defensive ends. The Tigers ranked among the top 25 nationally in scoring defense and total defense during each of Rumph’s five seasons at Clemson. In 2010, Rumph coached unanimous All-American defensive end Da’Quan Bowers, who led the nation in sacks (15.5) and was tied for first in tackles-for-loss (26.0). He won both the Nagurski Trophy as the nation’s top defensive player, and the Hendricks Award as the nation’s top defensive end, and was a second-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft by Tampa Bay.
In Rumph’s first year with the Tigers, he worked with defensive end Gaines Adams, who was the fourth overall selection in the 2007 draft by Tampa Bay after receiving unanimous All-America honors as a senior. Adams tallied 12.5 sacks to rank fourth in the nation. In his five-year career at Clemson, Rumph coached nine NFL draft picks and four All-ACC selections.
Rumph served as the outside linebackers coach at Memphis from 2003-05, helping lead the Tigers to three consecutive bowl games, including a pair of bowl victories in 2003 and 2005. Memphis won 24 games during his three seasons on staff.
The Memphis defense ranked 23rd in the nation in turnover margin in 2005 when the Tigers posted a 7-5 record. The defensive unit allowed just 125.6 yards per game on the ground, first in Conference USA and 27th in the nation. Two of Rumph’s players, Tim Goodwell and Carlton Baker, were the top two tacklers on the defense. Goodwell led the team in tackles with 102 and Baker had 88, including a team best five sacks.
In 2004, Goodwell and fellow linebackers Carlton Baker and Quinton McCrary were three of the top four tacklers on the team, accounting for 284 of the team’s total tackles. Rumph’s linebackers also logged 10 of the team’s 23 sacks in 2004 as Memphis started the year 5-1 and was ranked in the top 25 of The Associated Press poll, the first top-25 ranking in the history of the program.
During Rumph’s first year at Memphis in 2003, the Tigers finished the year ranked ninth in the nation in total defense, while linebacker Coot Terry was named to the All-Conference USA team.
Rumph served as South Carolina State’s defensive backs coach in 2002 after a five-year stint as head coach at Calhoun County High School in his hometown of St. Matthews, South Carolina, from 1997-2001. Rumph also worked as a graduate assistant coach at the University of South Carolina in the spring of 1997 prior to being named the head coach at Calhoun County High.
Rumph was a four-year letterwinner at the University of South Carolina, where he starred as a linebacker for the Gamecocks under head coaches Sparky Woods and Brad Scott, totaling 141 career tackles. Rumph helped lead USC to its first bowl victory in the 1995 Carquest Bowl. He earned his bachelor’s degree from South Carolina in 1994. He and his wife Kila are the proud parents of two sons, Christopher and Elijah. Christopher was drafted in the fourth round (118th overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Chargers and played in all 16 games this past year.