Matt Luke set to complete his Ole Miss coaching staff with hire of inside linebackers coach Jeff Koonz
Ole Miss is currently in the middle of spring practice in Oxford but that hasn’t prevented Matt Luke from making the final hire necessary to complete his 2019 coaching staff.
If you missed the news leading up to the start of spring practice, linebackers coach Jon Sumrall returned to his alma mater of Kentucky following the departure of Matt House, the Wildcats’ defensive coordinator last season, to the NFL. To fill the final open position on his Ole Miss coaching staff, Luke is turning to Jeff Koonz, the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at North Texas.
News of the hire was first reported by Chuck Rounsaville of Ole Miss Spirit.
Before coaching at North Texas, Koonz previously served as Tommy Tuberville’s defensive coordinator at Cincinnati. Koonz began his coaching career as a graduate assistant under Tuberville at Auburn back in 2004. He has also coached at Texas and Louisiana Tech during his coaching career, which could serve well for the Rebels in recruiting.
Koonz joins a defensive staff that has made two other hires this offseason with the additions of defensive coordinator Mike MacIntyre and Tyrone Nix, who will also coach linebackers.
To get an idea of who Koonz is as a coach, check out this interview of the assistant coach during his time with Cincinnati:
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com