Ole Miss defensive coordinator hot board 2.0: 14 coaches to replace Chris Kiffin, DJ Durkin

OXFORD — One month later, Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin's search for defensive assistants is back on.

In January, Ole Miss co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach D.J. Durkin left to take the defensive coordinator job at Texas A&M. Kiffin plugged that hole by hiring his younger brother Chris Kiffin for the same job. But the younger Kiffin only lasted 24 days on the job before returning to the NFL as a part of the Cleveland Browns staff.

Now Ole Miss is back on the market for another defensive assistant. Additionally, the Rebels still have to fill the spot created when special teams coach Coleman Hutzler left for Alabama. With two coaching vacancies still yet to be filled, here is a list of candidates Ole Miss could be considering.

Coaches who came up last time
As discussed in a previous hot board, Kiffin's hires tend to fit any combination of three criteria: They're young coaches on their first or second Power Five job; they've worked with him before; or they came through the Alabama coaching tree. Exceptions happen, but Kiffin has a type.

Several coaches who fit that bill exist. Some names previously discussed include:

Louisiana associate head coach Wes Neighbors, who was an analyst at Alabama and worked at FAU with Kiffin coaching safeties.

Houston defensive coordinator Doug Belk, who was a graduate assistant at Alabama for three years, the same three years Kiffin worked there.

Boston College defensive pass game coordinator Aazaar Abdul-Rahim, who was an analyst and director of player personnel at Alabama after a long high school coaching career.

Memphis defensive line coach Kyle Pope, who was an analyst at Alabama.

San Francisco 49ers special teams quality control analyst August Mangin, who has been an analyst at Alabama and at LSU under Kiffin's close friend Ed Orgeron.

Georgia quality control analyst Davis Merritt, who worked with Kiffin at FAU and was a graduate assistant at Ole Miss under Chris Kiffin.

Out-of-work options
The bad news for Ole Miss is the coaching change cycle has already spun, leaving fewer options than in January with so many assistants having accepted new jobs within the last month. The good news is very few teams are looking for coaches right now, meaning the Rebels have their top pick of coaches between jobs.

One home-run candidate who has surprising connections to Kiffin is former Washington coach Jimmy Lake. Lake oversaw four top-15 defenses in four years as Washington's defensive coordinator before serving two years as coach. In 2006-07, Lake was an assistant defensive backs coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, working under Kiffin's father Monte.

Former LSU defensive coordinator Daronte Jones wasn't retained by the new coaching regime and hasn't accepted a job yet. The same can be said of former Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Justin Hamilton and former TCU defensive coordinator Chad Glasgow. 

Pulling from the NFL
There are the options to pull from the NFL. Kevin Sherrer, who was the New York Giants'  linebackers coach in 2020-21, has worked at Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee in roles ranging from defensive coordinator to special teams coordinator to linebackers coach to director of player personnel. His SEC experience could make him a valuable hire as a recruiter and give the Rebels' staff versatility.

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh and his brother, Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh, have had success trading assistants back and forth, so Kiffin could rely on his brother's relationships with the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers to add an up-and-coming coach looking for a first job as a position coach.

The Chris Partridge connection
It's possible finding assistant coaches with connections to Kiffin doesn't matter as much as coaches with connections to co-defensive coordinator Chris Partridge. Partridge has coached safeties the last two years at Ole Miss as well as being Durkin's co-defensive coordinator, but he coached linebackers and special teams in his five-year tenure at Michigan.

The Rebels will have the option of hiring to reunite Partridge with an assistant from his past. This could mean going after experience with Central Michigan defensive backs coach Mike Zordich, who coached DBs at Michigan from 2015-20. Or it could mean trying someone a little greener, such as Morgan State defensive coordinator Antonio James, who was a graduate assistant at Michigan.

Another interesting name is Jordan Kovacs. Kovacs was a journeyman NFL safety from 2013-16, worked with Partridge as a Michigan defensive and special teams assistant in 2017-18 and has since been a defensive quality control analyst with the Cincinnati Bengals, fresh off a Super Bowl run. Kovacs has never been an on-field coach, but pulling an assistant away from the AFC champs is an easy sell.

A final option could be promoting internally, elevating the role of someone like director of recruiting Devin Bush Sr., who worked with Partridge at Michigan.


SOURCE: Suss, Nick. "Ole Miss defensive coordinator hot board 2.0: 14 coaches to replace Chris Kiffin, DJ Durkin." Mississippi Clarion Ledger, 14 February 2022, https://www.clarionledger.com/story/sports/college/ole-miss/2022/02/14/ole-miss-defensive-coordinator-lane-kiffin-coaching-search-candidates/6757728001/

Contact Nick Suss at 601-408-2674 or nsuss@gannett.com. Follow @nicksuss on Twitter.