Sean Chavious, longtime Bellport High School assistant football coach, dies at 47

Sean Chavious was all about football and family — and those two things often coincided.

Chavious has been synonymous with the Bellport football program since entering high school. He was a three-year varsity player, including a starter on Bellport’s 1992 Long Island Class II championship team as a sophomore.

After playing college football at Delaware and SUNY Cortland, Chavious became a physical education teacher at Brookhaven Elementary in Bellport and began his coaching career, eventually working his way up to assistant coach for the varsity team.

Chavious died on Monday at his home. The cause of death is being determined by a toxicology report, according to his brother, Gregg Chavious. He was 47.

Sean Chavious enjoyed sharing his love of football with his 7-year-old son, Decker, who served as a water boy for the team and helped his father set up the field on game days. He also joined his dad at pregame and postgame meals and celebrations.

“That was the icing on the cake for him,” said Kerry Chavious, Sean’s wife. “That was his glory. He loved bringing him to do all those things with him and Decker adored it. They would go set up the fields for the games on Saturdays, they would go to the games and Decker would be the water boy for the kids. It was something he looked forward to doing with his dad very much.”

Jamie Fabian, Bellport's varsity football head coach for the past seven years, has coached alongside Chavious since Fabian joined the program 14 years ago.

“He was a good friend, a tremendous coach, a good father,” Fabian said. “He was dedicated to his job, he loved the kids, loved Bellport football. He was a good guy to be around."

Joe Cipp III, who coached Chavious his junior and senior seasons, remembers Chavious as a standout player and leader. Chavious played on varsity from 1992-94 before graduating Bellport High School in 1995. He rushed for 1,367 yards over his high school career, the 16th-most in program history, Cipp said. Chavious also totaled 11.5 sacks, the 12th-most in program history, and was inducted into the Bellport High School Football Hall of Fame in 2018. He also took third in the Suffolk wrestling championships at 177 pounds in his senior year.

“He was a very athletic, hard runner," Cipp said. "He just had a nose for the football. A dedicated athlete and a hard worker.”

Gregg Chavious said his brother knew he wanted to be a teacher and a coach from a young age.

“That was literally the kid’s goal,” Gregg Chavious said. “When you tell people what you want to do when you grow up, that’s what he wanted to do and I always thought that was special."

 Sean Chavious was born at St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson on Feb. 16, 1977. He and Kerry were married in 2016 after knowing each other for nearly 15 years.

“He loved his son, he loved his community and he loved everyone in his family,” Gregg Chavious said. “He was someone who was there when you needed him. He really cared.”

Fabian said the team met during the week to discuss Sean Chavious’ death. He said it was an emotional room and he has no doubt that Chavious’ legacy will live on through the players this year and for future Bellport teams.

“It was emotional," Fabian said, "but the one thing I’ll say about this program is, it’s a family and I mean that. We’ll stick together, we’ll stay together, we’ll go through this together. We’ll heal and we’ll play with him in our minds and hearts and try to honor him every time we step on the field, whether it’s practice or a game. We’ll play with him in our hearts this year.”

Chavious  is survived by his father, Gregory, of Bellport, his sister, Therese, of Riverhead, his brother, Gregg, his wife, Kerry, and his son, Decker. Services were held on Friday at Robertaccio Funeral Home.