Chris
Woods was named Columbia's defensive coordinator/linebackers coach in March
2011. Woods joined the staff after serving three years as the defensive line coach/special
teams coordinator at Bryant University.
Woods
had three successful seasons at Bryant.
Before finishing 7-4 in 2010, Woods led a Bryant defense that was ranked
first in the Northeast Conference in scoring defense with 17.3 points allowed
per game and finished the season ranked second in both passing defense (141.5
yards allowed) and total defense (287.4 ypg) in 2009.
In
his first season at Bryant, the Bulldogs finished the year nationally ranked in
several defensive categories, including rushing defense (16th - 100.82 yards
per game) and sacks (tied for 15th wtih 2.64 sacks per game).
No stranger to the Ivy League, Woods was an assistant at Harvard in
2007, coaching the Crimson's special teams and linebackers, prior to his stint
at Bryant.
A
veteran collegiate coach, Woods was the head coach at Stonehill College for
three seasons where he recruited the school's three largest classes and
guided the program to its best record since the formation of the league in
2004.
Woods also enjoyed a successful three-year term as head coach at Mansfield,
where he was named the PSAC coach of the year and the AFCA Region II coach of
the year in 2003. Woods led the Mountaineers to an 8-3 record in his
third year, its first winning season since 1975.
Woods spent four years (1996-99) as an assistant head coach, defensive
coordinator and linebackers coach at Wittenberg, where he helped that program
to a 40-4 record and two appearances in the NCAA playoffs.
He also served as interim head coach at Plymouth State in 1994-95 and was
part of two teams that went undefeated in the regular season and advanced to
the NCAA Division III tournament.
Originally from Milton, Mass., Woods attended Boston College High School before
continuing his playing career at Davidson. Graduating in 1991, Woods served as
captain of the football team. He was the Wildcats' team MVP as a senior and
started in a school-record 41 games.
A member of the AFCA since 1994, Woods was a member of the NCAA Northeast
Regional Advisory Committee and has been a regular speaker and clinician in New
England and the Midwest.
Woods lives in Manhattan with his wife, Stephanie, their son, Braden, and their
daughter, Hannah.
Recruiting Areas
Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia, Canada
