Texas looking to hire NFL assistant as new DL coach, per report
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Texas reportedly has identified its new defensive line coach.
According to Matt Zenitz of 247Sports, Miami Dolphins assistant Kenny Baker is expected to join Steve Sarkisian’s staff. Texas has a defensive line vacancy after Bo Davis returned to his alma mater, LSU.
Baker was the assistant defensive line coach for the Miami Dolphins in 2023, his first season in the NFL ranks. He has over 10 seasons of college coaching experience.
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Baker got his start in 2009 as a student assistant at Gardner-Webb, his alma mater. He was the defensive coordinator for Lakeside High School in Georgia before his first on-field job in the college ranks as co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Berry College in 2013.
After his season at Berry, Baker was Mercer’s defensive line coach from 2014-18. He had a one-season stop at UT-Chattanooga in the same role.
Baker’s first FBS job came coaching Western Kentucky’s defensive ends in 2020. He was the program’s defensive line coach for the 2021 and ’22 seasons before joining the Dolphins’ staff.
WKU made bowl games all three seasons Baker was on staff. The 2022 Hilltoppers had the second-best scoring defense in Conference USA, limiting opponents to just 23.4 points per game. Western Kentucky defenders totaled 32 sacks in 2022, good for second in the conference, and ranked third in total defense, allowing 383.9 yards per game.
Baker worked closely with DE DeAngelo Malone during his time at WKU. Malone earned first-team All-Conference USA honors in 2020, Baker’s first season. Malone was the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year for 2021, Baker’s second season, and selected No. 82 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Big news on the DL search.
Texas has its guy per @mzenitz https://t.co/eUkurdlgST
— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_OTF) January 25, 2024
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
