Have always thought this as well and I'm glad he is doing well at LSU. He is a thorn in Bama's side and that is fine with me.
However at UT I thought part of Fulmer's problem was letting Chavis have complete control of the defense and even controlling who his coaches were. Fulmer, as the HC, had no say in hiring/firing defensive asst's without Chavis ok and that was wrong IMO.
We see at LSU, now that he doesn't have the luxury, how much more effective he can be with really good position coaches instead of long time buddies.
He was also particulary ornory to guys like Rodney Gardner and Trooper Taylor. Heard a story that when Garner left he basically jumped Chavis in a coaches meeting and told him to get off his backside and do some recruiting instead of complaining and griping at everyone else.