Chris Slade

One of the most accomplished defensive players in Virginia football history, Chris Slade is in his third year on the Cavalier staff staff as the team’s defensive ends coach. In 2022, he helped UVA rank No. 5 in the ACC in average sacks per game.

The UVA defense showed considerable improvement in 2022. The unit ranked No. 3 in the ACC in pass defense, No. 5 in average sacks per game and No. 5 in passing efficiency.

The Cavaliers ranked No. 24 in the nation in yards per play (4.97) and were 29th in points surrendered per possession. Among Power 5 Conference schools, UVA was highly effective in minimizing big plays (20+ yards), allowing only 3.2 per contest.

In the 2022 matchup with Georgia Tech, the defense racked up eight sacks, the second-highest single-game total in program history. In that same contest, UVA held the Yellow Jackets below double figures in scoring for just the second time in the previous 44 meetings between the teams. Georgia Tech’s 202 yards of total offense was the fewest allowed to an FBS/ACC opponent since the 2013 season.

Before returning to UVA, Slade spent the previous nine years (2013-21) as the head football coach at Pace Academy in Atlanta, Ga. During his career he produced a 59-42 record while playing primarily against higher classification schools. Slade led Pace to it first state championship (2A) title in 2015.

During his tenure the program produced 26 college players, two All-Americans, three future NFL players and made eight consecutive playoff appearances. In 2012 he joined the school as the assistant varsity football coach and an admissions associate.

Slade was the first UVA player to earn first-team All-America honors for two seasons (1991 and 1992). During his time as a Cavalier, he set the Virginia and Atlantic Coast Conference career record for quarterback sacks with 40. He served as a team captain during the 1992 campaign and was named the national defensive player of the year by the Football News that season. He was the defensive MVP of the 1990 Florida Citrus Bowl after posting a game-high 11 tackles. Slade completed his Cavalier career as the program’s all-time leader in tackles for loss (56) and was fifth on UVA’s all-time tackles list with 299.

Slade was a second-round draft pick (31st overall selection) by the New England Patriots in 1993. During his eight years (1993-2000) with the team, he was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team and was a three-time defensive player of the year. He served as a team captain and was recognized as a Pro Bowl selection and All-Pro after the 1997 season. Slade was named to the Patriots’ 1990s All-Decade Team. He played his final professional season (2001) as a Carolina Panther. During his nine-year professional career, he appeared in a total of 142 games, totaling 664 tackles including 53.5 sacks and an additional 16 tackles for loss. He was a member of the Patriots team that played in Super Bowl XXXI.

As a freshman in 1989, Slade starred on a Virginia team that won a school-record 10 games and shared the ACC title. He finished sixth on the team in tackles (52) and second in sacks (four). During his sophomore season, Slade had seven sacks and 13 tackles for loss to earn first-team All-ACC accolades. That season the Cavaliers achieved the No. 1 ranking in the Associated Press poll for three consecutive weeks.

As a junior in 1991, he posted a career-high 99 tackles and led a Virginia defense that ranked fourth in the nation in scoring defense (10.8) and sixth in pass efficiency defense (91.1 rating). That season Slade broke the Virginia single-season record for sacks (14) and tackles for loss (21) and was named second-team All-ACC and was named a first-team All-American by College & Pro Football Newsweekly, second team All-America by The Football News, and third team All-America by the Associated Press.

As a senior tri-captain in 1992, Slade broke his own school record for sacks (15) while also leading the team in tackles for loss (20). He tied for third on the team in tackles (74) and shared the team lead in pass break-ups (11). Slade earned first-team All-ACC honors and was a first team All-America selection by AP, United Press International, Football News, The Sporting News, the Football Writers Association of America, and the Walter Camp Foundation. The consensus All-American also was selected second-team All-America by College and Pro Football Newsweekly.

Slade was selected to the ACC’s 50th Anniversary Team in 2002 and was a member of the 2011 ACC Football Legends Class. The athletics department retired Slade’s jersey (85) following his senior season.

A native of Newport News, Va., Slade played at Tabb High School where he excelled in football, basketball and track. Along with his cousin, Terry Kirby, he helped to lead Tabb to the 1987 Group AA state football title. He was the All-State Virginia High School Defensive Player of the Year and a member of USA Today’s second team All-USA. As a prep basketball standout, Slade was the first basketball player in the York River District history to score more than 1,000 points and grab more than 1,000 rebounds.

Slade was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame of The Lower Virginia Peninsula in 2005, the Virginia High School Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Virginia Hampton Roads African American Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.

He was a member of the Virginia Sports Radio Network from 2009-11, serving as a sideline reporter for Cavalier football games. Slade earned his undergraduate degree in sociology from Virginia in 2013.