March 15, 2007
OXFORD, Ohio - Following the departure of defensive coordinator and assistant head coach Taver Johnson, who left to pursue other coaching opportunities last month, Miami University head football coach Shane Montgomery has announced a series of changes to his coaching staff for the upcoming campaign, including several promotions, some shuffling of responsibilities and the addition of a new staff member.
Accepting the helm of a defense that led the MAC in pass defense and ranked sixth in total defense in 2006 is Jay Hood, who has directed Miami's defensive line for the past two seasons. A veteran of the collegiate coaching ranks, Hood was a former head coach at Mesa State College from 1994-97 and served two stints as defensive coordinator at Fort Hays State University. He inherits a defense that returns seven starters and should benefit from improved depth after back-to-back strong recruiting classes. Hood is a 1986 graduate of Ohio Wesleyan.
Also promoted is third-year running backs DeAndre Smith, who has been tabbed the program's associate head coach. Smith, who came to Miami after four years as running backs coach at Northern Illinois University, has served the past two seasons as Miami's running backs coach and run game coordinator. He will continue to coach the running backs, including senior Brandon Murphy, who rushed for 1,000 yards and earned second-team all-MAC plaudits under Smith in 2005. Smith is a 1992 graduate of Missouri State.
Third-year offensive line coach Matt Hohman has been promoted to take over Smith's former duties as running game coordinator. Hohman, who coached three linemen to all-MAC plaudits during his first season with the program, is a 1995 graduate of Miami and former football letterwinner for the Red and White. Last season he worked with an injury-plagued unit that featured eight different starters on the year.
Replacing Hood as the RedHawks' defensive line coach is former special teams coordinator and defensive assistant Rusty Wright, who also is entering his third season with the program. A 1996 graduate of the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, Wright coached an all-MAC place kicker in 2005 and has worked closely with the defensive staff over the past two seasons.
The new addition to Montgomery's staff is Jimmy Lindsey, who is coming off four seasons as an assistant coach at Gardner-Webb University. Lindsey is slated to coach Miami's defensive ends and serve as co-special teams coordinator along with current linebackers coach Craig Aukerman.
A 2001 graduate of Tennessee-Chattanooga, where he played linebacker and later served a season as the Mocs' linebackers coach, Lindsey spent three seasons as the defensive line coach for GWU on one directing the linebackers. During his tenure at Gardner-Webb, he directed eight student-athletes to all-Big South Conference honors, including 2006 Big South Defender of the Year Brian Johnston, a defensive end. The Runnin' Bulldogs posted a 24-21 record in four years with Lindsey on staff, including a Big South Championship in his first season in 2003.
A complete breakdown of the coaching staff and their responsibilities follows:
Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator Shane Montgomery
Associate Head Coach/Running Backs DeAndre Smith
Defensive Coordinator Jay Hood
Passing Game Coordinator/Wide Receivers/Recruiting Coordinator Brian Von Bergen
Running Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Matt Hohman
Special Teams Co-Coordinator/Linebackers Craig Aukerman
Special Teams Co-Coordinator/Defensive Ends Jimmy Lindsey
Tight Ends Mike Bath
Defensive Backs Tim Cooper
Defensive Line Rusty Wright
Strength Coach James Carsey
Graudate Assistant (Defense) Nic Manning
Graduate Assistant (Offense) J.D. Vonderheide
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