A week before the Miami Hurricanes are slated to begin spring practice, Mario Cristobal lost another assistant coach.
Defensive ends coach Rod Wright, a Houston native, left Miami’s coaching staff to become a defensive line coach with the NFL’s Houston Texans, according to multiple reports. But the Hurricanes may have a ready-made replacement for Wright already on staff.
The Hurricanes hired Pro Football Hall of Famer Jason Taylor as a defensive analyst last spring, and the Miami Dolphins legend drew rave reviews during his first year with UM.
“Jason Taylor has been great around the room,” defensive lineman Chantz Williams said during last year’s spring practices.
“Having him in the meeting room is a blessing. He’s a guy who’s made more plays than anybody here in the building, I feel. He gives us these tips that an old vet uses, and he’s allowing us to understand the game a whole lot. So having him around has really just been a great tool that we’ve used. And everybody goes to him, off the field, to ask him questions and stuff. He’s just always around, so it’s great to have him.”
The Hurricanes currently have a defensive-line coach, Joe Salave’a. Last season, Salave’a split duties with Wright. But when the Hurricanes announced Derek Nicholson’s hiring, replacing former linebackers coach Charlie Strong, they announced Nicholson as the inside linebackers coach.
With Wright’s departure, Taylor could potentially coach defensive ends and outside linebackers; he played both positions in the NFL.
Miami’s defensive ends were arguably the team’s strongest position group last season. Mitchell Agude, who is looking to earn an NFL roster spot this offseason, had 39 tackles with four sacks. Akheem Mesidor, in his first year with the Hurricanes after transferring from West Virginia, had 38 tackles and seven sacks. Jahfari Harvey had 31 tackles and 5.5 sacks.
The Hurricanes also saw promise from freshman Nyjalik Kelly, a Dillard High alumnus, who had 11 tackles and four sacks. Miami signed high-end defensive end prospects Collins Acheampong, Rueben Bain and Jayden Wayne this offseason.
As a quality control analyst, Taylor has been limited by NCAA rules to how much he can instruct players and what he is allowed to do. But the former NFL star has coaching experience as well as experience working with potential recruits, having spent five years coaching at South Florida high school powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas (three seasons as the defensive line coach and two seasons as the defensive coordinator).
While coaching at St. Thomas Aquinas, he helped instruct several star players, including Alabama’s Dallas Turner and Florida’s Tyreak Sapp, along with several other Division I players.
“Having him in the meeting rooms, out there at practice, he adds a lot to what we’re doing, obviously, at defensive end,” Miami defensive end Jahfari Harvey said last spring.
In addition to showing he can be a good coach, having Taylor on staff also brought prestige to Miami’s extended coaching staff, as the former Dolphins star’s name has cache due to his performance over his 15 seasons in the NFL.
“I mean, that’s another legend in the building,” defensive tackle Leonard Taylor said in the spring. “And then he’s teaching me fundamentals, how to come off the ball and stuff. Just taking tips from him. He’s pushing me, too, a little hard. Good. He’s good people. So it’s good.”
Taylor even received a ringing endorsement from Wright last spring.
“It’s been a dream come true to be able to learn from him, to be able to talk to him, talk through things, and who he is as a person,” Wright said.
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