Christopher Rippon (born September 20, 1960) is an American football coach. He is the special teams coordinator for the Hobart Statesmen football team. He previously coached for Western Connecticut, Boston University, Syracuse, Ole Miss, Rutgers, Marshall, Columbia, and the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for Southern Connecticut.

Coaching career

Western Connecticut 
Rippon played college football for Southern Connecticut and after graduation he became a graduate assistant for Western Connecticut. From 1982 to 1983 he held that position until being named defensive coordinator under head coach Paul Pasqualoni. During his second season with the team he helped lead them to a New England Football Conference championship in 1985. After Pasqualoni left for Syracuse, Rippon was promoted to head football coach for the 1986 season. In three seasons with the team he lead them to a 6–23–1 record overall. He had his best season in 1988 when he lead the team to a 3–7 record.

Boston University 
Following the 1989 season, Rippon joined Boston University as the team's defensive coordinator. He stayed with the team until 1992.

Syracuse 
In 1993, Rippon rejoined Pasqualoni; this time at Syracuse. Rippon took the position of linebackers coach in 1993 before becoming the team's defensive ends coach in 1994. In 1995 he was promoted to special teams coordinator and linebackers coach. From 1995 to 1998 he helped lead the team to three consecutive Big East championships from 1996 to 1998. He helped three Orange wide receivers reach All-Big East conference selections in Marvin Harrison, Quinton Spotwood, and Kevin Johnson. In 1999, Rippon was promoted to the team's defensive coordinator. In 1999 he lead a top-15 defense and in 2000 he also lead a top-25 defense. In 2001, his defense garnered 40 quarterback sacks—which was the second-most in school history—while also having the most takeaways during Pasqualoni tenure. In 2004, Rippon was named assistant head coach and returned to his role as special teams coordinator.

Ole Miss 
In 2005, Rippon was hired by Ole Miss to be the team's special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach under Ed Orgeron. He held the position until 2007.

Rutgers 
Rippon spent the 2008 season as Rutgers' special teams coordinator. He helped lead the team to a win in the 2008 PapaJohns.com Bowl over NC State. He was relieved of his position following the 2009 season.

Marshall 
In 2010, Rippon joined Marshall as the team's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. In 2011, Rippon helped lead the Thundering Herd to a 7–6 record including a win over FIU in the 2011 Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl. He helped coach two NFL draft picks: defensive linemen Vinny Curry and safety Omar Brown. He held his positions until 2012.

Columbia 
In 2013, Rippon was hired by Columbia to be the team's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Following two winless campaigns he became interim head coach for the first two months of 2015 following the firing of Pete Mangurian.

Ole Miss (second stint) 
After being named interim head coach for the Lions in 2015 he took a position as the special teams coordinator for his second stint at Ole Miss. He stayed with the Rebels until 2019.

Edmonton Elks 
In 2021, Rippon was hired by the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL) to be the team's special teams coordinator. He was fired on August 20, 2021.

Hobart 
In 2022, Rippon rejoined the college football ranks and was hired by Hobart as the team's special teams coordinator.

Head coaching record

Personal life 
Rippon created Coach Rip Consulting, LLC. to help kickers, punters, longsnappers, and other special teams players with recruitment.

References

External links
 Hobart profile
 Ole Miss profile
 Syracuse profile

1960 births
Living people
Players of American football from New York (state)
Coaches of American football from New York (state)
Southern Connecticut State Owls football players
Southern Connecticut State University alumni
Western Connecticut State University alumni
Western Connecticut Wolves football coaches
Boston University Terriers football coaches
Syracuse Orange football coaches
Ole Miss Rebels football coaches
Rutgers Scarlet Knights football coaches
Marshall Thundering Herd football coaches
Columbia Lions football coaches
Edmonton Elks coaches
Hobart Statesmen football coaches