Pry adds Chris Marve to Tech coaching staff as defensive coordinator

BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech Football head coach Brent Pry announced Tuesday that Chris Marve has joined his coaching staff as defensive coordinator.  
 
Marve comes to Virginia Tech after serving as defensive run game coordinator/linebackers coach at Florida State for the past two seasons. Marve helped the Seminoles make dramatic strides in their run defense in 2021. Florida State allowed 147.6 rushing ypg game this past season, a 51.6 ypg improvement compared to the 2020 campaign. 
 
Under Marve's tutelage, LB Kalen DeLoach finished the 2021 regular season third on the team with 69 total tackles (38 solo), to go along with 6.5 TFL, 1.0 sack, an INT and three QB hurries. Meanwhile, redshirt freshman LB DJ Lundy ranked fourth on the squad with 68 total tackles (32 solo), while adding 1.0 sack, 5.0 TFL and a fumble recovery. 
 
In 2020, Marve helped the Seminoles linebacker corps flourish as the group combined for 218 total tackles, including 17.5 TFL. The team's top three tacklers were all coached by Marve. LB Amari Gainer led the team with 65 total tackles (26 solo), while LB Emmett Rice (62 total tackles) and Stephen Dix (45 total tackles) ranked right behind him. Rice's 7.5 TFL led the team and he recorded Florida State's first safety since 2017. Dix earned Rivals Freshman All-American status to become FSU's second freshman All-American linebacker and the school's first since 1978.
 
Prior to his time in Tallahassee, Marve spent the 2019 season at Mississippi State as defensive run game coordinator/linebackers coach. The Bulldogs tied for the SEC lead with 13 fumble recoveries, seven of which came from Marve's linebackers. LB Erroll Thompson led the team with 84 tackles, including 3.5 TFL. Meanwhile, LB Willie Gay, Jr. proved to be a defensive playmaker, registering a 52-yard INT return TD for the Bulldogs, to go along with two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and 3.5 TFL. Gay was a second-round pick of Kansas City in the 2020 NFL Draft and won the AFC Championship with the Chiefs as a rookie. 
 
Marve has been recognized as a rising star in the coaching profession for several years. He earned a spot on the American Football Coaches Association 35 Under 35 list in 2017, in addition to the 247 Sports 30 Under 30 coaching squad in both 2017 and 2018. He also earned a spot on ESPN's 40 Under 40 list of ascending coaching stars in 2018. 
 
Marve began his coaching career at his alma mater of Vanderbilt in 2014 as a defensive quality control assistant. He served as a graduate assistant in charge of the outside linebackers in 2015 before working as the Commodores' inside linebackers coach from 2016-18. 
 
Under Marve's direction in 2018, Vanderbilt senior Jordan Griffin ranked second in the SEC and 29th nationally with 119 tackles. Dimitri Moore led all SEC freshmen with 84 tackles and was named to the Freshman All-SEC team. In 2017, Marve tutored LB Oren Burks who was selected in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers. Burks' selection marked the first time in program history Vanderbilt had a linebacker drafted in three straight years.
 
In his first season as the Commodores' inside linebackers coach, Marve oversaw one of the greatest seasons by a Vanderbilt linebacker and helped the program reach its first bowl game since 2013. LB Zach Cunningham was a consensus first-team All-America selection after leading the SEC and ranking 11th in the country with 125 tackles and third in the conference with 16.5 tackles for loss. Cunningham was picked by the Houston Texans in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft, the highest-drafted Vanderbilt defender since 2001.
 
During his first two seasons on the Vanderbilt staff, Marve also worked with LB Stephen Weatherly and Nigel Bowden. Weatherly made 98 tackles during that span, including 21.0 TFL, and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in 2016. In 2015, Cunningham was a first-team All-SEC performer with 103 tackles, including 16.5 for loss. Bowden earned Freshman All-SEC recognition after recording 78 tackles in 2014.
 
A four-time All-SEC linebacker during his playing career at Vanderbilt, Marve is one of the most decorated players in Commodores' history. His 397 career tackles rank ninth in school history, while his 30.0 TFL are tied for sixth. He was a Freshman All-America selection in 2008 after registering 105 tackles and four forced fumbles. He concluded that season with 10 tackles in a 16-14 Music City Bowl victory over Boston College.
 
As a sophomore, Marve produced a career-high 121 total tackles, including a career-best 57 solo stops, and averaged 10.1 tackles per game in conference play. His performance earned him second-team All-SEC recognition. He was named co-captain as a junior and again earned All-SEC honors after recording 80 tackles, including 8.0 for loss.
 
He was selected a captain again his senior season and led Vanderbilt back to postseason play with Coach Pry serving as co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach for the Commodores. In addition to earning All-SEC honors after leading Vanderbilt with 91 total tackles, he also earned a spot on the SEC Academic Honor Roll and helped the squad receive a berth in the Liberty Bowl.
 
Marve earned bachelor's degrees in sociology and human and organizational development from Vanderbilt in 2011. He completed his master's degree in higher education administration from Vanderbilt in 2015. Marve and his wife, Lauren, are the parents of a daughter, Rhyan. 
 
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