Chip Vaughn begins his first season with the New York Jets after joining Adam Gase's staff as a defensive assistant on February 16, 2020. For Vaughn, this is his first full-time coaching position in the NFL following five years in college football working with defensive backs at Air Force, Fayetteville State and Winston-Salem State.
At Air Force, the team finished the 2019 season ranked in the Top 25 with two wins over Power 5 teams, including Washington State in the Cheez- It Bowl. The defense finished 17th in total defense and seventh in rush defense, while the secondary saw three players selected to All-Mountain West Conference teams, one of which earned an undrafted free agent contract with the Arizona Cardinals.
Vaughn was selected to the 2020 American Football Coaches Association 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute. A Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship coach with New Orleans during training camp in 2018, he was also one of 15 coaches selected to participate in the 2018 NFL-NCAA Coaches Academy.
A former fourth-round selection by New Orleans in 2009, Vaughn missed his rookie season and the Saints Super Bowl run, with an injury suffered in training camp. He appeared in three games the following season with Indianapolis before finishing his NFL career with Carolina's practice squad the next year.
A four-year defensive back at Wake Forest, Vaughn was named first team All-ACC as a senior and received honorable mention as a junior. He led the Demon Deacons in tackles his junior year and finished second as a senior, finishing his college career with 258 tackles, three interceptions, 22 pass breakups, four fumble recoveries, one forced fumble, and one fumble returned for a touchdown.
A native of Goldsboro, NC, Vaughn double majored in Sociology and Religion at Wake Forest and is in the process of earning his MBA from Fayetteville State. He and his wife, Erin, are expecting their first child in December.
