Charlie Strong Leaves Miami Coaching Staff After Being Passed Over for DC Job

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Charlie Strong has left the Miami coaching staff after one season after being passed up for the defensive coordinator job, he told Chris Low of ESPN.

Strong, 62, was hired as the Hurricanes' co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach last year on Mario Cristobal's inaugural staff.

However, after defensive coordinator Kevin Steele left Miami to take the same job at Alabama, Cristobal opted for former Marshall and Tulane defensive coordinator Lance Guidry to take over that side of the ball for the Hurricanes, a move Strong disagreed with.

"Coach Cristobal and the program made a decision to go in a different direction. It's time for me to go in a different direction," Strong told Low.

Previously a head coach at three programs, Strong has a long track record as one of the better defensive minds in college football.

He served as a defensive coordinator under Urban Meyer at Florida and won national titles in 2006 and 2008. He won a third ring in 2020 as a defensive analyst at Alabama.

Strong also had a brief NFL stint as the assistant head coach and inside linebackers coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021 under Meyer.

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Last year, the Hurricanes defense ranked ninth in the ACC in total defense, allowing 375.2 yards per game, and ranked 10th in scoring defense at 26.8 points allowed per contest as the team went 5-7 in Cristobal's first season.

Guidry's defense at Marshall finished top-five in six different FBS defensive categories. Tulane hired him last month, but he left after a few weeks for Miami, and he'll try to revive the Hurricanes' struggling unit.