Kevin Steele spurns Maryland for ACC job, per report

Kevin Steele is returning to the sideline, but not at Maryland after all.

Chris Low of ESPN reported that Steele, the long-time defensive coordinator has signed with Miami to be its defensive coordinator. Low last week was set to go to Maryland and join the staff of Mike Locksley, but instead will join Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes.

Kevin Steele has signed a deal to become @CanesFootball’s defensive coordinator, sources tell ESPN. Steele had been pursued by @TerpsFootball and the two sides were in the process of trying to finalize a deal last week, but Mario Cristobal has locked up Steele to be Miami’s DC.

— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) February 1, 2022

A well-respected defensive assistant, Steele was with Auburn from 2016 to 2020, and he was a Broyles Award finalist in 2017 and a semifinalist in 2019 as the top assistant coach in college football. He moved to Tennessee briefly between the coaching changes at Auburn after Gus Malzahn was fired, and before Josh Heupel was hired at Tennessee.

Steele, 63, has been in coaching since 1980. He got his start at Tennessee, his alma mater, as a student assistant and quickly worked his way up to coaching UT’s outside linebackers in 1982. Steele returned to Tennessee in 1987 for a 2-season stint coaching defensive backs.

Steele was Baylor’s head coach from 1999-to-2002, and went 9-36. In recent years, he’s been a defensive coordinator across the SEC West, including Alabama (2007) and LSU (2015). Steele also worked at Alabama in 2008, 2013 and ’14 in non-coordinator positions.