Troy Football head coach Gerad Parker added an assistant on both sides of the ball with coordinator experience, welcoming Chris Boone and Kevin Reihner to the Troy coaching staff.
Boone is set to coach Troy's outside linebackers following a stint at Samford, while Reihner takes over coaching responsibility of Troy's tight ends and tackles following a season at Notre Dame.
Boone just finished two seasons as Samford's defensive coordinator, where he helped lead the Bulldogs to their historic 11-2 season in 2022, which included a run to the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs. Reihner was the offensive coordinator at Old Dominion in 2022 and played a significant coaching role this past season for a Notre Dame offense that ranked seventh nationally, averaging 39.2 points per game.
Chris Boone – Outside Linebackers
Chris Boone joins the Troy staff following a successful two-year run as defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Samford, where the Bulldogs won 17 games, the most by Samford in consecutive seasons since the 1991-92 campaigns.
In 2023, Samford posted its lowest-scoring defense in seven seasons and ranked 20th at the FCS level in explosive plays allowed. The Bulldogs led the Southern Conference and ranked sixth nationally in red zone defense. Additionally, linebacker Noah Martin earned multiple All-America honors after leading the SoCon with 109 tackles.
Boone's 2022 defense was a major part of leading the Bulldogs to a historic season, posting a record of 11-2 and reaching the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs for the first time since 1991. The Bulldogs posted a perfect 8-0 SoCon record, winning the program's first outright league title.
Samford improved across the board defensively in his first season, including a 14-point decrease in points allowed, which led to a 71-spot improvement in the national rankings from the previous season. Additionally, the Bulldogs had the top FCS rushing defense per Pro Football Focus and the 11th-best total defense. Samford ranked second nationally in red zone defense touchdown percentage.
Before Samford, Boone spent one season at East Mississippi Community College as the defensive coordinator and safeties coach. His 2021 defense led the nation in scoring defense, giving up just 12.8 points per game, and the unit ranked fourth nationally in total defense.
From 2018 to 2020, he coached the defensive line and safeties at Southern Miss. His 2018 defense finished third in the nation in total defense, first in first down defense, sixth in rushing defense, ninth in team pass efficiency defense and 10th in red zone defense.
From 2015 to 2018, Boone was the assistant head coach/defensive coordinator/secondary coach at Murray State. His 2016 Racers defense led the Ohio Valley Conference in turnovers and ranked 25th nationally in both red zone defense and turnovers forced.
Boone's first stint at Samford came in 2014 when he coached the Bulldogs' defensive line and special teams. That season, the Samford defense ranked second in the SoCon and 15th in the nation in total defense. The unit was also 16th nationally in scoring defense.
Boone came to Samford from Northwestern State, serving as associate head coach, defensive coordinator and secondary coach in 2013. Boone's defense finished second in the Southland Conference in total defense in 2013. The Demons also won six games for the first time in five years.
Prior to working at Northwestern State, Boone served as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Jacksonville State in 2011 and 2012. In 2012, his Jacksonville State defensive unit led the Ohio Valley Conference in red zone defense in league play. In 2011, Jax State won the OVC and led the league with 17 interceptions.
From 2006 to 2010, Boone was assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and secondary coach at UT-Martin, reaching the FCS Playoffs in 2006. During his time at UT-Martin, Boone helped the Skyhawks post their best five-season record in school history, and he coached two All-America linebackers and a Buck Buchanan Award nominee.
Boone's 2010 defense led the OVC in total defense, ranking 12th nationally, while the 2006 UT-Martin team won the OVC and finished 9-3 with a No. 13 national ranking. Boone's defense led the OVC and finished sixth in the nation in total defense, scoring, rush, pass, and pass efficiency defense.
Boone was the defensive coordinator and secondary coach at East Central Community College from 2004 to 2005 and spent two seasons at Nicholls State prior to that. He has also coached collegiately at Arkansas-Monticello (2000-02), UAB (1999-2000), Pearl River Community College (1997-98) and Southern Miss (1996-97). He was a high school coach at Wayne County (Miss.) during the 1998 season.
A 1997 graduate of Southern Miss, Boone played for the Golden Eagles in 1995. Prior to that, he played at Jones County (Miss.) Junior College, where he was a two-year starter and voted team captain in 1991 and 1992.
Boone and his wife, Coco Colett, have three children: daughters Cameron and Casidee and son Colton.
Kevin Reihner – Tight Ends & Tackles
Kevin Reihner joins the Troy staff following one year as the senior offensive analyst at Notre Dame and three seasons as the offensive line coach at Old Dominion.
The Fighting Irish put together one of their best offensive seasons in program history in 2023 with Parker as the offensive coordinator and Reihner on staff. Notre Dame ranked seventh nationally, averaging 39.2 points per game, in addition to ranking ninth in passing efficiency and 29th in total offense. Audric Estime was one of the nation's elite running backs, ranking third in rushing touchdowns (18) and eighth in rushing yards per game (111.8).
The Fighting Irish posted a 10-3 record against one of the nation's most challenging schedules, including four straight games against ranked opponents, and their 32-point victory over Oregon State in the Sun Bowl was the largest victory by a Notre Dame squad in a bowl game in program history. Offensive tackle Joe Alt was a consensus All-America selection, while Estime was named to the Associated Press All-America Team.
Notre Dame's offense increased production across the board in Reihner's lone season on staff in South Bend. The Irish improved their scoring by more than a touchdown per game, in addition to seeing increases in yards per game, passing yards per game, yards per play and red zone scoring.
Reihner took over Old Dominion's offensive coordinator duties right before the 2022 season and was one of the youngest coordinators in the country that year. The Monarchs defeated Virginia Tech in the 2022 season opener and a trio of offensive players earned All-Sun Belt honors in ODU's first trip through the Sun Belt. Ali Jennings led the league, averaging 106.6 receiving yards per game and with nine touchdown grabs.
In 2021, Reihner led an offensive line that paved the way for the third-best rushing offensive in Conference USA and helped Blake Watson secure the third 1,000-yard season by an ODU back in program history. ODU set the single-game record for rushing yards in the second game of the year against Hampton when the Monarchs rushed for 358 yards.
Despite a young offensive line featuring just one senior, ODU ran for more than 100 yards in 9-of-12 contests and three times for more than 200 yards.
Prior to his stint at Old Dominion, Reihner was a graduate assistant coaching the offensive line at Penn State in 2019, where the Nittany Lions finished 15th in the country in scoring at 35.8 points per game.
Before joining the Penn State staff, he was the tight ends coach at Delaware, where he helped the Blue Hens to the 2018 FCS Playoffs for the first time since 2010, and tight end Charles Scarff earned FCS All-American honors.
Reihner was a graduate assistant offensive line coach in 2017 at Wake Forest and helped the Demon Deacons finish 8-5 and end the year with a Belk Bowl win over Texas A&M.
Reihner began his coaching career as the offensive quality control coach at Fordham, where he helped the Rams to an 8-3 record.
He earned his bachelor's degree in engineering management from Stanford, where he helped lead the Cardinal to a pair of Rose Bowl appearances and a Fiesta Bowl berth before becoming the first-ever graduate transfer to play at Penn State. While playing with the Nittany Lions, Reihner played in 13 games, including Penn State's appearance in the Gator Bowl.
He is married to the former Jo Baird.
