FAYETTEVILLE -- No matter where John Chavis has coached in the SEC, one thing remains constant.
The man known as "Chief" always plays Alabama.
Chavis, in his first season as the University of Arkansas' defensive coordinator, will go against Alabama for the 30th consecutive season when the Razorbacks play the No. 1 Crimson Tide today.
"I can't think of another guy that's done that, faced Alabama as many times as Chief," said Gene Chizik, the former Auburn coach who now works for ESPN. "That's incredible.
"Chief will always have a good feel for those guys. Experience is everything, particularly in this league."
Chavis, 61, began his run as an SEC assistant coach in 1989 at Tennessee, which has played Alabama 100 times since 1901 and annually since 1944.
When the SEC split into divisions in 1992 with Tennessee in the East and Alabama in the West, the conference made sure the teams remained opponents on a yearly basis.
Chavis left Tennessee -- where he was promoted from a position coach to defensive coordinator in 1995 -- after the 2008 season when Coach Phillip Fulmer and the staff were fired.
Since then Chavis has been the defensive coordinator at three SEC West schools [LSU from 2009-14, Texas A&M from 2015-17 and Arkansas] to continue his streak of playing Alabama.
Chavis faced Alabama twice in 2011 when LSU beat the Tide 6-3 in overtime in the regular season and Alabama won a rematch in the Sugar Bowl 21-0 to win the national championship, so today will be his 31st game against the Tide as a coach.
"You want to play the best and find out where you are and how you measure up," Chavis said of his long history against Alabama. "You might say, 'Is he serious about that?' You're doggone right.
"We want to know where we've got to be to get to that point. Certainly we're looking at it right now and we're going to prepare our guys to go play this game.
"When you're playing No. 1 you should be at your best, and we need to be at our best."
Chavis is 12-17-1 in his teams' previous 30 games against Alabama when he was an assistant coach or defensive coordinator.
Going back to Chavis' playing days as a defensive lineman and a graduate assistant at Tennessee, he has competed against Alabama in 34 games spanning more than 40 years.
Paul "Bear" Bryant was Alabama's coach when Chavis faced the Tide from 1976-78 as a player. Alabama won all three games. Bryant and the Tide also beat the Vols in 1979 when Chavis was a graduate assistant.
"To know that this is Coach Chavis' 30th straight year playing Alabama, I think that's remarkable in itself," Arkansas Coach Chad Morris said. "Just his experience in general, regardless of who the opponent is. He's provided a lot of experience and wisdom and knowledge for our players and our staff.
"His impact on our program is very much strongly felt right now."
Arkansas' players said it's reassuring to know Chavis has faced Alabama so many times -- and won several of those contests.
"He's got the history," senior defensive back Kevin Richardson said. "He's been competing against Alabama since he's been playing football. So he knows what it takes to go out there and beat them.
"I know he's going to make a plan for us to execute and compete."
Arkansas is ranked 46th nationally in total defense, allowing an average of 352.8 yards per game, after finishing last season 102nd with opponents averaging 438.3 yards.
"It's a blessing," junior cornerback Ryan Pulley said of playing for Chavis. "He knows what he's doing.
"He's fun to be around. He understands us. He knows the language we talk. He just knows everything. He's been around players all his life. He just knows how players are."
Alabama Coach Nick Saban said Arkansas' defense has been improving under Chavis.
"John's been in the league for a long, long time and I think everywhere he's ever been the defensive coordinator he creates a lot of issues for you in preparation," Saban said. "Players play hard, they're very aggressive.
"I think they've played better and better and they look like a completely different team now on defense than they did earlier in the season."
Texas A&M beat Arkansas 24-17 last week, but the Razorbacks held the Aggies -- who came into the game averaging an SEC-best 545.5 yards -- to 377.
"Chief keeps the defense motivated," Richardson said. "He calls plays that make people feel confident they can go out there and play to their highest ability. He makes sure everybody's focused."
Chavis coached with Tennessee teams that were 10-9--1 against Alabama, including a seven-game winning streak from 1995-2001.
"We had an opportunity to play them when they were great and we had an opportunity for about seven or eight years at Tennessee we were much better than them," Chavis said. "Certainly that's turned around.
"They're one of the best programs in the country and that speaks for itself."
Morris said he expected the defense to improve under Chavis.
"When you go and look at his track record and see the success he's had at all of his stops, it's not surprising, getting these guys to play at a high level," Morris said. "I just think they'll continue to improve under his leadership."
Sports on 10/06/2018