— By Bill Cornwell
Marshall head coach Tony Gibson promised significant staff changes after the Herd dropped two straight and four of five to end the 2025 season with a 5-7 record.
Brad Lambert has since been announced as Thundering Herd defensive coordinator, the third such instance of Lambert on the MU staff after he previously worked under former head coaches Jim Donnan and Doc Holliday.
In addition to the hiring of Lambert, more changes have surfaced.
Two additional veteran coaches are joining the Herd defensive staff in Dean Hood and Chip West, according to FootballScoop.com.
Hood will serve as safeties coach, while West will guide the cornerbacks.
Hood and West replace Jake Ellsworth and Jared Holley, who are no longer with the Herd.
A former head coach at Murray State from 2020-23, Hood spent last season as Director of Player Development at Kentucky. Hood was also previously head coach at Eastern Kentucky from 2008-15. Prior to that, he was defensive coordinator at Wake Forest, while Hood coached at Charlotte in between his head coaching gigs at EKU and Murray State.
Hood’s coaching career began in 1986 at Fairmont State where he oversaw defensive backs. Hood was later defensive coordinator at Glenville State as well.
This marks West’s second stint with the Marshall program as he coached alongside Lambert in Huntington in 2019.
West began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at West Virginia in 1997 and has also worked at current Sun Belt Conference members James Madison and Old Dominion, along with stops at Wake Forest, Virginia, Syracuse and Charlotte.