Chris Nugai enters his sixth season as part of Chris Pincince’s staff in 2019 and will oversee the Chargers offensive line.
With over 20 years of collegiate coaching experience, Nugai spent 14 seasons coaching at the NCAA Division I level. Nugai’s extensive coaching career also includes three years as a guest coach in the Canadian Football League, two with the Toronto Argonauts and one, in 2005, with the Hamilton Tiger Cats.
Most recently, Nugai spent two seasons at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. where he was the tight end and fullback coach. He mentored All-Patriot League Second Team selection Alex Schneider who left Holy Cross as the Crusaders career leader in touchdown receptions for a tight end.
Prior to Holy Cross, he spent six seasons at Columbia University as the running backs coach and special teams’ coordinator. During his time with the Lions he recruited All-America Third Team selection Jeff Adams and coached All-America honorable mention selection Austin Knowlin, a punt returner. During the 2008 season, Knowlin led the Ivy League and ranked second in all of NCAA Division I FCS in punt return average. He also served as the Lions’ recruiting coordinator in 2006 when Columbia recorded the program’s best overall record since 2000.
Before arriving at Columbia, Nugai was at the University of Connecticut as a graduate assistant in 2005 and at Harvard as the running backs coach from 2003-04. He was part of the 2004 Crimson team that went undefeated and won the Ivy League Championship. Harvard was also ranked as high as No. 12 in NCAA Division I-AA, while Nugai coached Clifton Dawson to All-America and All-Ivy League honors as the university’s single-season rushing leader.
The Waterbury, Conn. native also spent time at Tufts University and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy at the NCAA Division III level. He has previous head coaching experience at Fitchburg State in Massachusetts from 1996-97.
Nugai began his coaching career shortly after graduating as an intern assistant coach at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. He then spent one season at the University of Maine and Yale University as an assistant.
A native of Waterbury, Conn., Nugai attended Sacred Heart High. He earned a B.A. in history/secondary education from Worcester State in 1992, and a master’s in educational leadership and management from Fitchburg State in 2001.
