Chris Demarest, the Warriors’ secondary coach in 1993, joined head coach Denny Douds' 2011 staff as the defensive backs and special teams coach after accumulating 16 years of Division I experience, including stops at Florida State, North Carolina State and Rutgers.
Demarest helped cornerback Shawnte Carroll earn first team All-PSAC East recognition in his first season on the Warriors' staff in 2011.
Demarest came to ESU from Tiffin University in Ohio, where he was the defensive coordinator and associate head coach last season. He was the head football coach and athletic director at Hudson Catholic Regional High School in Jersey City, N.J. in 2009 after spending five seasons at Rutgers from 2004-08.
While with the Scarlet Knights, Demarest was the assistant head coach under Greg Schiano and coached the nation’s second-ranked pass defense in 2007 and the sixth-ranked pass defense in 2006. He also coached a top-20 pass defense at North Carolina State in 2002, the third of his four seasons as the secondary coach for the Wolfpack.
Demarest was part of Florida State’s 12-0 national championship team in 1999 and was the Seminoles’ cornerbacks coach for two seasons. He assisted with the No. 1-ranked pass defense in the nation during the 1998 season.
He went to Florida State from Lehigh University, where he was the secondary coach for three seasons from 1995-97 and was a member of the 1995 Patriot League championship team. He was the secondary coach at Millersville in 1994, ESU in 1993, coached the defensive line at Northeastern (his alma mater) in 1991-92, was a volunteer assistant at East Carolina in 1990 and the graduate assistant at Rutgers in 1989.
Demarest is a 1988 graduate of Northeastern, where he was first team All-New England and I-AA honorable mention All-America after leading the nation with 11 interceptions in 1987. He was a four-year letterwinner at defensive back and signed with the Washington Redskins as a free agent in 1988. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Marketing.
During his 22-year coaching career, Demarest has coached 17 NFL players, including Adrian Wilson, a Pro Bowl safety from N.C. State, and Dexter Jackson of Florida State, the MVP of Super Bowl 37 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He has participated in nine bowl games, including the Fiesta Bowl in 1998 and Sugar Bowl in 1999 while at Florida State.
