Dillon native John Chavis has left LSU after six successful seasons to take over as defensive coordinator for Texas A&M.

Chavis will replace Mark Snyder and will join a team that was ranked 103rd nationally in total defense, leaving behind the Tigers, who ranked 11th under his leadership.

The move will make Chavis one of the top two paid college coordinators in the country, but Chavis said he was excited about playing with a good offense. LSU’s offense was ranked 77th in the nation in 2014, while Texas A&M finished sixth in the SEC in total offense and averaged 449.3 yards per game. The Aggies were also the SEC’s top passing team with an average of 306.4 yards per game.

The Aggies are in their third-year with coach Kevin Sumlin, and finished with an 8-5 record in the regular season. A&M has lost to LSU for three straight seasons, largely in part to the defensive team Chavis put together. The LSU defense was ranked in the top 15 nationally for the past four years, and this season the Tigers defense was ranked first in the SEC in yards allowed.

Chavis is a native of Dillon and graduated from Dillon High School before attending college at Tennessee. He played middle guard for Tennessee from 1976 to 1978 and was a graduate assistant coach in 1979, the year he graduated. From 1980 to 1988 he coached defense at Alabama A&M and Alabama State, then returned to Tennessee from 1989-2008.

Under Chavis, Tennessee made five appearances in the SEC Championship Game, winning the title in 1997 and 1998 and receiving three BCS bowl game invitations. Four of his linebackers were named first-team All-American, with all four selected in the NFL Draft. In 2006, he was named American Football Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year, and in 2011 he received the Broyles National Assistant Coach of the Year award.

In 2009, Chavis signed with LSU and spent six seasons with the Tigers, producing 21 NFL draft picks, including five in the first round, and seven first-team All-Americans and nine first-team All-SEC players. In 2013, LSU became the first school in NFL draft history to have six defensive players picked in the first three rounds, and had a total of eight who were drafted. The Tigers’ defense was ranked in the top 12 nationally four times, and in 2011 had their best year yet as they Tigers were ranked fifth in the nation in four categories, including total defense, scoring defense, pass efficiency defense, and rushing defense.

Chavis is married to Diane Crisp Davis with two sons, John and Jason.