Benedict has new head football coach. Chennis Berry is his name, offense is his game
When Benedict’s 1-9 football season came to a quiet end, there was a clear need for a shot of energy — and a bigger shot of offense.
With the hiring of former Southern University assistant head coach Chennis Berry as the Tigers’ new head coach, the team that finished last in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in total offense believes it has both an energy boost and an offensive uplift.
Benedict president Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis and athletics director Willie Washington introduced Berry as the Tigers’ new head coach before the marching band, a crowd of students, faculty, staff and media Tuesday morning at the school’s David Swinton Center.
“It’s a fertile recruiting ground,” Berry said. “In the state of South Carolina, it is an amazing place to recruit quality student-athletes. Also, the vision and leadership of Dr. Artis; she’s totally into the program. When you have positive leadership at the top, we feel like we’ll have the resources in place to be successful.”
Within five minutes of taking the podium and giving thanks to president, athletic director, coaches, his wife and family, the energetic Berry put out an acronym-filled rationale for making Benedict an offensive power.
Among other acronyms was DASH — Discipline, Attitude, Sacrifice, Habit — the simplest way Berry could be about what he wanted to instill among the Tigers beginning this spring.
“Any time you’re in a situation when you’re taking over a program, you have to get the young men believing in the mission, and the mission is going to start in the offseason,” Berry said. “In the weight room, doing the things that are important to get us to Saturdays in September.”
Benedict fired the defensive-minded Mike White a week after the 2019 season ended.
It might be the first head coaching job for Berry, but it comes after nearly three decades of service as an intern to several NFL teams, and as an assistant to several teams in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, SIAC and elsewhere. Then he found a home at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
“I’ve been under a lot of great head coaches and learned a lot of things about what I have to do,” he said Tuesday. “So I’m excited about my first opportunity to be a head football coach.”
In replacing White — who was 19-30 as head coach of the Tigers after a 14-year, 130-72 run with Albany State — Berry will try to install an offense that will be as electric as Southern’s.
The offense under Berry energized the Jaguars to a Southwestern Athletic Conference championship in addition to four SWAC west titles over the last seven years. His “Blue Machine” offense at the FCS level Southern also netted the school’s and the SWAC’s all-time leading rusher in Lenard Tillery, all-time leading passer in Willie Quinn and all-time leading receiver in Austin Howard.
Southern went 8-5 overall and 6-1 in the SWAC in 2019, finishing 13th nationally in rushing and averaging more than 33 points per game.
“I thought we ran an offense that was explosive, putting guys in place to make plays and make people defend them,” Berry said. “Make people defend the whole entire field and put the ball in the hands of guys who can make plays. That’s what it’s all about. Sometimes as coaches we try to overthink that thing, and it’s not really that hard.”
Little mention was made Tuesday of Benedict’s 2019 season in which the Tigers were last in the SIAC in total offense, and in the bottom half of the conference in almost every offensive category.
Instead, Berry said he was excited about the chance to test his coaching skills in South Carolina. And he’s looking forward to another challenge he holds in high regard: coaching young men to adulthood.
“You have to teach these young men that not only do we have to win on the field, we have to win in the classroom, win the day,” he said. “If we continuously win the day, we’ll put a good product on the field.”
About Chennis Berry
He’s a Cleveland, Ohio native with a bachelors’ degree in business administration (Savannah State) and a master’s in public administration (Kentucky State).
As a player
Offensive tackle, first team All-SIAC; and Black College All-American Honorable Mention, 1994
As a coach
Southern University
Assistant head coach 2015-2019; offensive line 2012-2015
Howard University
Co-offensive coordinator/offensive line 2011-2012
North Carolina A&T
Associate head coach/offensive coordinator/offensive line 2003-2005, 2009-2010
Morgan State
Offensive coordinator/offensive line 2006-2008
Fort Valley State
Assistant head coach, 2001-2002
Kentucky State
Offensive line, tight ends, strength and conditioning, 1997-2001
Morris Brown College
Offensive line, tight ends 1996
This story was originally published February 11, 2020 at 2:31 PM.
