Chuck Heater Chuck Heater ( born October 10 , 1952 ) is an American football coach and former player . He was a running back for the University of Michigan from 1972 to 1974 and finished his playing career as the fifth all time leading rusher in Michigan Wolverines football history . Heater has been an assistant football coach at ten universities since 1976 . He has been affiliated with College Football Hall of Fame coaches Bo Schembechler ( as a player ) , Earle Bruce ( as an assistant at Ohio State and Colorado State ) , and Lou Holtz ( as an assistant at Notre Dame ) . He has been on coaching staffs of national championship teams at Notre Dame ( 1988 ) and Florida ( 2006 and 2008 ) . He is currently the defensive coordinator at Marshall University . Early years . A native of West Virginia , Heater attended Columbian High School in Tiffin , Ohio . He rushed for more than 1 , 000 yards and scored more than 100 points in both his junior year in 1969 and his senior year in 1970 . In his three years as a starter for Columbian , Heater accounted for 3 , 530 total yards and scored a total of 310 points , including 158 points as a senior . He was also selected as an All - Ohio player in his senior year . In February 1971 , Heater announced that he had accepted a scholarship to attend the University of Michigan . University of Michigan . Heater played at the running back position for Bo Schembechler ' s Michigan Wolverines football team from 1972 to 1974 . He accumulated 1 , 995 rushing yards , 17 rushing touchdowns and averaged 4 . 9 yards per carry . In October 1972 , Heater established himself as a star in his third game for Michigan , passing for two touchdowns and rushing for 94 yards and a third touchdown in a 35 - 7 victory over Navy . In its game coverage , the UPI credited Heater , who came into the game as a substitute , for firing the Wolverines ' 28 - point third quarter : " THE Wolverines blew scoring opportunities and were sluggish on offense until substitute Chuck Heater , a six - foot , 205 - pound tailback from Tiffin , Ohio , entered the game as Harry Banks ' replacement in the second quarter . The darting sophomore gained 89 yards , 59 of them in the third quarter when he scored on a 13 - yard run off left tackle to give Michigan a 28 - 0 lead . " Heater had four 100 - yard rushing games for the Wolverines , gaining 155 yards against Illinois in 1972 , 133 yards against Iowa in 1973 , 128 yards against Indiana in 1973 , and 101 yards against Wisconsin in 1974 . His longest run from scrimmage was for a 71 - yard gain against Indiana in 1973 . As a sophomore in 1972 , Heater reportedly found himself in Schembechler ' s doghouse after missing a day of practice after his wedding . The " Chicago Tribune " reported : " You know why Chuck Heater , the Michigan back , got in Coach Bo Schembechler ' s doghouse ? Chuck skipped a day of practice for a honeymoon . Not sufficient excuse , ruled Bo . " At the time he completed his college career in 1974 , Heater ranked fourth all - time among Michigan ' s career rushing leaders since official records were maintained starting in 1949 . The only players ahead of him were Billy Taylor ( 3 , 072 yards ) , Ron Johnson ( 2 , 417 yards ) and Ed Shuttlesworth ( 2 , 333 yards ) . Heater also received the Fielding Yost Award in 1975 as the most outstanding academic and athletic performance by a senior . The Wolverines compiled a record of 41 - 3 - 1 during Heater ' s four years with the team and won or tied for the Big Ten Conference championship every season . After completing his senior year at Michigan , Heater was selected to play as a running back for the Blue team in the 1974 Blue – Gray Football Classic . Professional football . Heater was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the 10th round ( 241st overall pick ) of the 1975 NFL Draft . He signed with the Saints in June 1975 , but he was released in early September 1975 , shortly before the opening game of the regular season . Coaching career . Northern Arizona . When Heater was released by the Saints , he returned to Michigan for graduate work in educational psychology . In 1976 , he learned from a friend about an opening on the coaching staff at Northern Arizona University . He was hired as the offensive backfield coach working under head coach Joe Salem . Heater took over a backfield that had fumbled 46 times in 1975 . Under Heater ' s tutelage , the Northern Arizona backfield fumbled only 14 times in 1976 . Northern Arizona running back Carl Golden also led the Big Sky Conference in rushing in 1976 . Heater later recalled that he had no intention of coaching football when he graduated from Michigan . He said , " I found out it ' s what I know most about anyway — football . I found out it ' s really what I wanted to do . Coaching is suited to my abilities . " Toledo . In December 1976 , after completing one season at Northern Arizona , Heater was hired by the University of Toledo near his hometown of Tiffin , Ohio . At Toledo , he joined the staff of head coach Chuck Stobart who had coached Heater at Michigan . Heater spent five years on the Toledo coaching staff , working as the running backs coach from 1977 – 1978 and as the secondary coach from 1979 – 1981 . Wisconsin . In 1982 , Heater was hired by Wisconsin as the defensive backfield coach under head coach Dave McClain . Shortly after being hired at Wisconsin , Heater told a Wisconsin newspaper , " I don ' t think I ' ll be a legendary coach , but I want to do my job and do it well . If I do those things , I ' ll get where I want to go . I ' m not going to worry about tomorrow . I ' ll just do well today and things will take care of themselves . " Heater remained at Wisconsin for three years . Ohio State . In March 1985 , Heater was hired by Ohio State as the secondary coach under head coach Earle Bruce . He spent three years on Bruce ' s staff at Ohio State and left when Bruce was fired at the end of the 1987 season . Notre Dame . In February 1988 , Heater was hired as the defensive secondary coach at Notre Dame under head coach Lou Holtz . He was on the Notre Dame coaching staff in 1988 when Notre Dame won its last national championship . He remained on Holtz ' s staff at Notre Dame for three years through the 1990 season . Colorado State . In February 1991 , Heater was hired as the defensive coordinator at Colorado State University . He joined the staff of Earle Bruce under whom he had coached at Ohio State four years earlier . At the time of the hiring , Bruce said , " Chuck is an outstanding coach who will fit well in our program . " Heater remained with Colorado State for two years but left after the 1992 season when Earl Bruce was fired as the team ' s head coach . Colorado . In 1993 , Heater was hired as the recruiting coordinator for the Colorado Buffaloes football team . Colorado head coach Bill McCartney had been an assistant coach at Michigan during Heater ' s senior year . In February 1994 , after the NCAA eliminated the position of recruiting coordinator , McCartney hired Heater as his defensive secondary coach . In March 1995 , Colorado ' s new head coach Rick Neuheisel moved Heater to a new position as the team ' s tight ends coach . He remained the tight ends coach at Colorado for four years from 1995 to 1998 and also resumed his duties as recruiting coordinator in 1998 . Washington . In January 1999 , Heater followed Rick Neuheisel to the University of Washington , accepting a positions as cornerbacks coach and recruiting coordinator . Heater spent five years on the Washington coaching staff , though he moved to offense in 2002 as the running backs coach . Utah . In February 2004 , Heater joined new head coach Urban Meyer as the defensive secondary coach at the University of Utah . Heater had worked with fellow Ohio native Meyer on Earl Bruce ' s staff at both Ohio State and Colorado State . Florida . In February 2005 , Heater followed Urban Meyer to the University of Florida as cornerbacks coach and recruiting coordinator . In September 2006 , Meyer said of Heater : " He ' s one of the best teachers . I used to just sit in his meetings and watch him coach . " In the 2008 Capital One Bowl , Heater coached against the Michigan Wolverines for the 14th time in his career . At the time , Heater told the press , " It ' s nothing new for me , but it ' s always a game I look forward to because I have a lot of respect for their program and who they are . " After three years as the cornerbacks coach , Heater became the Gators assistant defensive coordinator and safeties coach in 2008 . In January 2010 , Heater was promoted to co - defensive coordinator . Temple . In 2011 , Heater was hired as the defensive coordinator and defensive back ' s coach at Temple University under new head coach Steve Addazio . Heater has coached teams in 23 bowl games , including the 2007 and 2009 BCS National Championship Games . Marshall . In January 2012 , Heater returned home to West Virginia as the new defensive coordinator under head coach and long time friend Doc Holliday . Personal life . Heater and his wife , the former Deborah Dariano , have a daughter , Emily , and two sons , Andy and Adam . While Heater was coaching at Washington , his son Andy played at the tight end position for the Huskies . Adam played Tight End and Center for the Ucla Bruins .