CONWAY, S.C. – Coastal Carolina head football coach Jamey Chadwell has announced changes to his coaching staff which includes the transition of Malcolm Dixon to wide receivers and the promotion of two analysts in Cody Ladutko and Aaron Fierbaugh to on-field assistant coaching positions.
 
"We are excited to keep our Coastal family intact this season with the promotions of Cody and Aaron. While we had a lot of interest in the open positions, we knew we had the best people for our student-athletes and our program in-house. They know our culture and our vision for what we are building here at CCU," stated Chadwell. "Them, along with Malcolm, have worked tirelessly for our student-athletes, our staff, our program, and Coastal Carolina University, and they have earned these opportunities."
 


Dixon will make the move from tight ends to wide receivers this season, a position group he coached at North Greenville in 2019. Dixon, who joined Coach Chadwell's staff in January 2020 worked with the tight ends in each of the last two seasons for the Chanticleers and help mentor All-American Isaiah Likely.
 
Over the last two years, Likely was named a second-team All-American by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), Pro Football Network (PFN), and College Football All-SIS, while also earning Pro Football Focus (PFF) All-America third-team honors and Phil Steele All-American honorable mention accolades. He was also named a 2021 John Mackey Award semifinalist and was a two-time first-team All-Sun Belt pick (2020 and 2021) under Dixon's guidance.
 
In 2021, Likely hauled in 59 receptions for 912 yards, both of which were second on the team, and led the Sun Belt with 12 receiving touchdowns. His numbers ranked second among tight ends in all of NCAA D1 FBS football.

Dixon also worked with tight ends Patrick McSweeney and Michael McFarlane in 2020, as well as McSweeney, Xavier Gravette, TJ Ivy Jr., and Logan Mauldin in 2021, teaching them all the offense as well as helping their maturation while also working alongside the offensive line unit that was a semifinalist for the 2020 Joe Moore Award which is presented annually to the nation's top offensive line unit.
 
With Dixon moving over to wide receivers, Ladutko was promoted to the tight ends coach after working with the group as an offensive analyst last season.
 


Ladutko has been at Coastal Carolina since 2018, working first as offensive quality control before serving as an offensive graduate assistant from 2019-20. In both roles, he worked closely with current co-offensive coordinator Willy Korn, first with the wide receivers and then with the quarterbacks, while also helping with offense installation, scouting, and game planning.
 
Last season, he worked side-by-side with Dixon with the tight ends, aiding in the guidance of Likely, as well as the emergence of younger tight ends Mauldin and Jayden Addison.
 
Ladutko started his coaching career at Davidson College as the wide receivers coach from 2014-17 after playing professionally in Europe for the Orebro Black Knights (Sweden) in 2011 and Cannes Iron Mask (France) in 2012-13. He started his collegiate career at Mercyhurst from 2006-08 before transferring to Averett for his final two seasons in 2009-10. He graduated from Averett in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in coaching and earned his master's degree from Coastal in instructional technology.
 
Chadwell also announced a change on the defensive side, as Fierbaugh was promoted to the inside linebackers coach after serving as a defensive analyst and assisting former linebackers coach Rod Wilson with the linebackers and defensive coordinator Chad Staggs in weekly game planning in 2021.
 


Fierbaugh worked with veteran linebackers Silas Kelley and Teddy Gallagher who both earned All-Sun Belt honors and led the team in tackles with 110 and 89, respectively, last season. He also worked with the maturation of young linebackers JT Killen, Shane Bruce, Mason Shelton, and Kenny Byrd, as well as newcomers Tré Pinkney, Ze'Marion Harrell, and Bailey Carraway.
 
Prior to joining the Coastal Carolina staff in May 2021, Fierbaugh was a defensive quality control assistant at South Carolina from 2016-21, where he helped with opponent scouting, offensive breakdowns, and self-scouting. With the Gamecocks, he was part of three bowl trips in the 2016 Birmingham Bowl, 2017 Outback Bowl, and 2018 Belk Bowl.
 
As a student at Auburn, he served as a student assistant for four years, first working with the player personnel, special teams, and recruiting from 2013-15 and then the defense in 2015-16. During his time with the Tigers, Auburn played in the 2014 BCS National Championship game and made the 2015 Outback Bowl and the 2015 Birmingham Bowl.
 
A native of Fayetteville, Ga., Fierbaugh graduated from Auburn with a bachelor's degree in marketing in December 2015.

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