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Mizzou expected to hire Miami co-defensive coordinator as new LB coach, per report
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Mizzou is nearing a hire to bring Miami’s co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, Derek Nicholson, to Columbia.
According to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Nicholson is expected to join the staff with Eli Drinkwitz as the Tigers’ new linebackers coach. Nicholson played linebacker at Florida State in the mid-2000s and briefly in the NFL before moving into coaching.
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Nicholson spent the last 2 seasons with the Hurricanes. Before that, he was Louisville’s inside linebackers coach for 3 years. He has also coached linebackers at Akron (2013), edge rushers at Louisville (2014), and defensive linemen at Alcorn State (2015) and Southern Miss (2016-17). From 2018-19, Nicholson also held the title of co-defensive coordinator with Southern Miss.
At Louisville, Nicholson coached All-ACC honorable mention linebacker Momo Sanogo. At Miami, he coached All-ACC second-team selection Francisco Mauigoa. He mentored a freshman all-conference linebacker at Southern Miss and co-coordinated a defense that finished sixth nationally in per-play efficiency and 12th in run efficiency.
At Alcorn State, he was part of a Southwestern Athletic Conference title-winning team and coached a defensive line that finished fourth in the country in sacks. Four different linemen recorded 7 or more sacks that season.
And at Akron, he coached a pair of linebackers to all-conference recognition — a first for the Zips in over a decade.
Nicholson has been part of successful defenses at each stop along his coaching career thus far, though the 2024 season with Miami was less than rosy. Miami head coach Mario Cristobal has made sweeping changes to his defensive staff since the year ended, hiring Minnesota’s defensive coordinator to be the new leader of the Canes’ defense.
Nicholson will replace DJ Smith, who left Mizzou last month to take the coordinator job at App State, his alma mater.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
