Named the 2021 AFCA FBS Assistant Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Newland Isaac was promoted to co-offensive coordinator in February 2019, and is in his fifth year overall at Coastal Carolina in 2022. Isaac, who is also in charge of the Chanticleer running backs, has a long history with head coach Jamey Chadwell. Isaac worked under Chadwell for eight seasons over three stops, including Charleston Southern, Delta State, and North Greenville before rejoining him at Coastal Carolina.
On top of being named the 2021 AFCA FBS Assistant Coach of the Year, Isaac was also a Broyles Award nominee.
In the summer of 2018, Isaac was selected to participate in the 2018 NCAA-NFL Coaches Academy which provides current, full-time college football coaches at NCAA member schools and some former NFL athletes the opportunity to expand their knowledge and insight into the world of college football coaching.
As the co-offensive coordinator in each of the last three seasons, Isaac has helped the Chants go from 5-7 in 2019 to 11-1 in 2020 and 11-2 in 2021. In each of the past three seasons, the offense has also ranked in the top-10 nationally in all of FBS in multiple statistical categories.
In 2021, the Coastal offense outscored all their opponents 532-281 on the season, including totaling 100-plus points in each quarter on the year.
Coastal was one of only two teams in ALL of FBS to rank in the top-10 in both third-down conversion (1st) and fourth-down conversion percentage (4th) on the season and one of only two teams in ALL of FBS to rank in the top-30 in both rushing offense (6th) and passing offense (28th). Coastal was one of only four teams in ALL of FBS to rank in the top-25 in both total offense (5th) and total defense (25th), one of only seven teams in ALL of FBS to rank in the top-30 in both most first downs on offense (25th) and fewest first downs allowed on defense (27th), and one of only eight teams in ALL of FBS to rank in the top-25 in both scoring offense (5th) and scoring defense (25th).
Under Isaac’s watch, the offense also finished the season ranked No. 1 nationally in average yards per rush on the season (5.84 ypr) and in third-down conversion percentage (53.8 percent). The Chants were also second nationally in yards per play on offense (7.74 ypp) and ranked fourth nationally in fourth-down conversion percentage (76.9 percent).
On the ground in the running attack, the Chants ended the season ranked No. 6 nationally in rushing offense (228.8 ypg) and in rushing touchdowns (36), as senior running back Shermari Jones ranked No. 8 nationally in rush yards per carry (6.54) and No. 24 nationally in rushing touchdowns (13).
The offense also finished the season ranked No. 5 nationally in scoring offense (40.9 ppg) and was one of only five FBS schools to average over 40 points per game on the season.
On special teams, the Chants ranked No. 1 nationally in punt return defense (0.00 punt return yards allowed) and in blocked punts (4), as well as fourth nationally in total blocked kicks (5), areas all overseen by Isaac.
Running backs Shermari Jones and Braydon Bennett both earned All-Sun Belt honors in 2021, first team and honorable mention, respectively, while both ranked among the leaders in the Sun Belt in yards per carry with Jones at 6.4 and Bennett at 8.9. Jones’ 13 rushing touchdowns and 1,040 rushing yards both ranked second in the Sun Belt. His 13 rushing touchdowns were tied for the sixth-most in CCU’s single-season history, while his 1,040 rushing yards were the seventh-most in CCU’s single-season history.
In 2020, the Chanticleers won the program’s first-ever Sun Belt Conference title, posted an 11-1 overall mark, including an 8-0 Sun Belt Conference record, and played in the program’s first-ever FBS postseason bowl game.
The 2020 season marked Coastal Carolina’s first-ever undefeated regular season and the first time that the Chanticleers were ranked in either the Associated Press Top 25 Poll or the Amway Coaches Poll presented by USA Today Sports.
The Chanticleers posted two wins over FBS top 25 nationally-ranked opponents, the first two such victories in program history, four wins over top 50 opponents, and was ranked as high as No. 9 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and No. 11 in the Amway Coaches Poll, both Sun Belt Conference records. The Chanticleers were also ranked as high as No. 12 in the College Football Playoff rankings, also a Sun Belt record.
Five players earned All-America recognition including redshirt freshman quarterback Grayson McCall (FWAA Freshman All-American, The Athletic’s 2020 College Football Freshman All-American), freshman offensive lineman Willie Lampkin (FWAA Freshman All-American, ESPN College Football’s True Freshman All-America Team, The Athletic’s 2020 College Football Freshman All-American, 247Sports True Freshman All-American), and junior tight end Isaiah Likely (Pro Football Focus (PFF) (second team)).
McCall also picked up individual national honors, as the redshirt freshman was named the 2020 Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) Most Inspirational Freshman. He was also a Manning Award Finalist, a Maxwell Award semifinalist, a Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award semifinalist, and a Shaun Alexander-FWAA Freshman of the Year Award semifinalist.
The team earned 16 selections to the 2020 All-Sun Belt team, including 10 first-team selections. Offensively, McCall was named both the Sun Belt Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, while being joined on the All-Sun Belt first team by offensive members CJ Marable, Isaiah Likely, Jaivon Heiligh, and Trey Carter. Freshman offensive lineman Willie Lampkin was named All-Sun Belt second team and offensive lineman Sam Thompson was tabbed third team. Running back Reese White and offensive linemen Antwine Loper and Steven Bedosky were all named honorable mention.
Overall, the offense in 2020 led the conference in scoring offense (37.2 points per game), third-down conversion percentage (52.3 percent), fourth-down conversion percentage (76.5 percent), time of possession (33:50), completion percentage (66.6 percent), fewest interceptions thrown (5), and team passing efficiency (177.72).
CCU was second in the league for the year in red-zone offense (88.3 percent), and second in both sacks allowed per game (1.17) and tackles-for-loss allowed per game (4.33) on the year. The Chants also ranked third in the conference in total offense (449.8 yards per game) and rushing offense (218.3 yards per game), both of which ranked in the top 25 nationally.
Senior running back CJ Marable, who signed as an undrafted free agent with the Chicago Bears in the summer of 2021, led the team with 1,227 total all-purpose yards on the year - 887 rushing, 228 receiving, and 112 kick return yards - an average of 102.3 all-purpose yards per game. Twice named to the Paul Hornung Award Honor Roll (Oct. 5 and Oct. 19), Marable totaled 19 touchdowns on the season, which was first in the Sun Belt and tied for fourth nationally, and was tied for the third-most in a single season in CCU program history. He led the Sun Belt in total points (114) and points per game (9.5), was tied for first in the Sun Belt in rushing touchdowns (12), and ranked second in the Sun Belt in rushing yards (887), which also ranked 20th nationally. Marable found the end zone in 11-of-12 games on the year, including scoring two or more touchdowns in seven contests, and finished the regular season with three-straight 100-yard rushing games and a total of eight touchdowns over the final three games heading into the FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl.
In his first season as co-offensive coordinator in 2019, the Coastal Carolina offense recorded over 400 yards of total offense five times, including a season-high 636 yards in the road win at UMass. The Chants were 23-for-29 (79.3 percent) on fourth-down attempts which was the second-best percentage both nationally and in the Sun Belt, while the 23 fourth-down conversions were tied for the third-most nationally behind only Army and Navy with 26.
The CCU offense also ranked first in the Sun Belt in time of possession (33:24), first in completion percentage (65.0 percent), fifth in third-down conversion percentage (40.7 percent), and fifth in sacks allowed (1.67 per game).
Junior running back CJ Marable led the team in rushing with 1,085 yards on the season, which ranked fourth in the Sun Belt, and etched his name in the CCU record books as he became just the fourth Chant to rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season joining De’Angelo Henderson (2014, 2015, and 2016), Lorenzo Taliaferro (2013), and Patrick Hall (2004). He scored a touchdown either on the ground or through the air in 11 of CCU’s 12 games on the season.
He also led the Chants in all-purpose yards with 1,418 - 1,085 rushing, 295 receiving, and 38 kick return - and scored a team-high 86 points on a team-leading 14 touchdowns, including 11 rushing scores. Marable also ranked third in the Sun Belt in total touchdowns (14), fourth in scoring (86), and seventh in all-purpose yards per game (118.2). He totaled six 100-yard rushing games on the season, which was the third-most in the Sun Belt, including a career-high 172 rushing yards at ULM (Nov. 23), which was the seventh-most rushing yards in a game by a player in the Sun Belt in 2019.
Named to the 2019 Phil Steele Sun Belt Conference All-Conference third team, Marable was a 2019 All-Sun Belt honorable mention selection and a finalist for the 2019 Blanchard-Rogers Trophy finalist.
Redshirt junior running back Jacqez Hairston posted a career-high 360 yards and six touchdowns on 79 carries out of the backfield, while freshman Reese White totaled 167 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 36 carries. Both averaged 4.6 yards per carry on the season.
In his first season at CCU in 2018, the Chants’ offense led the Sun Belt and ranked in the top 25 nationally in rushing yards per game, red-zone offense, time of possession, first downs, and both third and fourth-down conversion percentage for much of the season. CCU finished the year ranked in the top 10 nationally in fourth-down conversion percentage (68.8), fewest penalties (52), fewest penalties per game (4.33), and fewest penalty yards (493).
Running backs CJ Marable and Marcus Outlow combined to rush for 1,380 yards and 14 touchdowns on the season, as the Chants rushed for over 300 yards in back-to-back road contests at Campbell (Sept. 12) and Louisiana (311). Marable led the Chants with 719 rushing yards on the season, while Outlow was second with 661 yards on the ground.
Isaac spent the 2017 season as the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at Albany State where he helped the Golden Rams finish first in the SIAC in scoring, passing offense, and red-zone offense while ranking second in both rushing and total offense. Three Golden Rams were named All-SIAC on offense while lineman Jamie Glenn added all-region honors.
Prior to his time at Albany, Isaac worked on coach Chadwell’s staff at his alma mater Charleston Southern, serving as the running backs coach. Overall, he spent four seasons (2013-16) in that capacity while adding the responsibility of recruiting coordinator in January 2017 before his departure for Albany State in May 2017. He helped the Buccaneers produce one of the nation’s top rushing attacks in his final two seasons at CSU. The Bucs won Big South championships in 2015 and 2016 while also earning NCAA playoff berths each season.
In Isaac’s four years as the Bucs’ running backs coach, Christian Reyes set the CSU all-time rushing record only to see Mike Holloway break the mark. Holloway, a two-time FCS All-American, Darius Hammond, and Ben Robinson exited in 2016 following a production-packed four years. Holloway finished as CSU’s all-time leading rusher with 2,623 yards, while Hammond and Robinson finished their careers ranked fourth and fifth, respectively. The trio combined for 5,610 rushing yards and 53 rushing touchdowns, powering a Bucs’ ground attack that ranked among the FCS top 20 each year.
In 2016, Holloway led the FCS in yards per carry and the Bucs ranked sixth nationally in all of FCS in rushing, averaging 266.5 yards per game. The previous year, CSU won an outright Big South Conference championship as the Bucs finished the season 10th nationally in average time of possession and 19th in rushing yardage.
Under Isaac’s guidance, Christian Reyes became CSU’s all-time leading rusher in just two years (2013-14) with 2,200 yards, which was broken two years later by Holloway. Reyes additionally shattered the school’s single-season rushing record with 1,254 yards in 2013.
Isaac also coached running backs at Delta State in 2012, guiding a group that combined to average almost 200 rushing yards per game and nearly 5.0 yards per carry in 2012. Running back Rondreas Truesdale was a first-team All-Gulf South selection.
Before his season at DSU, Isaac coached running backs and slot receivers for the Crusaders at NGU for three years from 2009-11. The Crusaders captured the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association national title in 2010 (9-3) and appeared in the NCAA Division II quarterfinals in 2011 (11-3).
At NGU in 2011, Isaac coached All-American Idris Anderson and All-South Region performer Teyran Rucker. NGU’s offense averaged 250 rushing yards per game and 5.5 yards per carry to rank among the nation’s top 10.
During NGU’s NCCAA title season, the Crusaders averaged 281.1 rushing yards per game and scored 43 touchdowns on the ground.
Isaac was a four-year letterman under former Bucs’ head coach Jay Mills at CSU. The Hopkins, S.C., native was a former walk-on who worked his way to a scholarship at wide receiver for the Bucs. He helped CSU capture the 2005 Big South Conference title.
Isaac holds a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Charleston Southern (2009) and an MBA from North Greenville (2011).
Newland Isaac's Coaching History
2009-11: North Greenville (Running Backs/Slot Receivers)
2012: Delta State (Running Backs)
2013-16: Charleston Southern (Running Backs/Tight Ends)
2017: Albany State (Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator)
2018: Coastal Carolina (Running Backs)
2019-present: Coastal Carolina (Co-Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs)
