CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Miami has hired former Texas head coach Charlie Strong as the team's new co-defensive coordinator.
Head coach Mario Cristobal announced the hire Friday.
Strong, who will also coach linebackers, most recently served as inside linebackers coach and assistant head coach for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars.
"I'm fired up to add Charlie Strong to our staff as co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach," Cristobal said. "Coach Strong is an elite football mind and has a tremendous reputation as a coach with championship experience. He also has exceptional acumen as a recruiter. Coach Strong will elevate not only our defense but our program as a whole, and I can't wait to see the impact he makes on the culture and DNA of our team."
Prior to joining the Jaguars, Strong spent three seasons as head coach at South Florida from 2017-19. He previously served as head coach at Texas (2014-16) and Louisville (2010-13) and was interim head coach at Florida during its 27-10 loss to Miami in the 2004 Peach Bowl.
Strong spent three stints at Florida as an assistant, coaching outside linebackers for two seasons in the 1980s, serving under Steve Spurrier from 1991-94 and again under Ron Zook and, later, Urban Meyer from 2003-09.
Strong's other stops include Alabama, where he spent the 2020 season as a defensive analyst, South Carolina (1999-2002) and Notre Dame (1995-98).
"It's a really special moment for me," Strong said in a statement. "Whenever you go into a program, you always look at 'Do I have a chance to be successful? Are we going to have the support that we need?' And that's what you're getting right now. You look at the history – a foundation has been laid here. It's the championships over the years, the great players over the years and now … everybody wants to see this program take off and everybody expects for this program to be at a different level."
He will join former Clemson and Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele as the co-leader of the defense.