P.J. Fleck is bringing aboard a veteran defensive coach
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on Wednesday that Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck plans to hire former Purdue defensive coordinator Kevin Kane for an on-field coaching role.
Neither his hiring or his official role have been announced by the University.
Kane spent the past two seasons as the defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach at Purdue under former head coach Ryan Walters. The two had worked together previously under Bret Bielema at Illinois for two years, with Walters serving as defensive coordinator and Kane as linebackers coach. Kane has been in the coaching ranks for two decades now, with stops at Kansas, Wisconsin, Northern Illinois, and SMU.
The hiring of a veteran defensive assistant makes a lot of sense for this coaching staff. Newly-promoted defensive coordinator and safeties coach Danny Collins has no play-calling experience, and he is one of three defensive assistant coaches who are under 32 years old. Cornerbacks coach Nick Monroe is the elder statesman at 45 years old.