LYNCHBURG, Va. -- Liberty coach Jamey Chadwell has been named the Paul "Bear" Bryant Group of 5 coach of the year after guiding the Flames to a 13-0 record and a spot in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1 in his first season with the team.
Chadwell also is a finalist for the Bryant coach of the year award, which also includes coaches from Power 5 conferences. The others are David Braun (Northwestern), Kalen DeBoer (Washington), Eliah Drinkwitz (Missouri), Rhett Lashlee (SMU), Mike Norvell (Florida State), Nick Saban (Alabama) and Steve Sarkisian (Texas).
The Flames rose to No. 18 in the Top 25 after beating New Mexico State 49-35 for the Conference USA championship. The also moved into the College Playoff Poll for the final three weeks, finishing at No. 23.
They will face No. 8 Oregon in the bowl game.