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Blake Baker has officially accepted a job at LSU to coach linebackers under Ed Orgeron.
Baker has been Miami’s defensive coordinator for the past two seasons, but this offseason Manny Diaz has announced he will take on defense call duties in 2021.
Miami’s defense slipped a bit in 2020, allowing for 408 yards per game, which ranked 67th nationally and 51st nationally in scoring the defense at 27 points per game.
The low point came defensively in a 62-26 loss to North Carolina in which the Hurricanes allowed 778 total yards, including 554 rushing yards.
The last time Diaz was the defensive coordinator for UM and called games full time, in 2018, the Hurricanes were one of the best defenses in the country, ranking 18th in the country in scoring the defense with 19.5 points per game. and fourth nationally in total defense at 278 yards per game.
The Hurricanes have made changes to the defensive coaching staff to tackle this side of the ball, hiring Travaris Robinson as a secondary coach, Jess Simpson as a defensive line coach and DeMarcus Van Dyke as a linebacker coach.
Former Security Coordinator and Co-Defensive Officer Ephraim Banda left on his own for the state of Utah to take up the post of Defensive Coordinator.
Former defensive line coach Todd Stroud and former cornerback coach Mike Rumph have not been selected in those roles, but they both remain with the program in off-court roles.
Jonathan Patke will be the only remaining defensive assistant coach from the 2020 season. Patke will continue to coach the strikers and be the special teams coordinator.
Baker was defensive coordinator at Louisiana Tech for four seasons. He also worked with Diaz in Texas.
The UM 2021 defense will need to replace productive passing throwers, Quincy Roche and Jaelan Phillips, but UM returns a lot of talent on this side of the ball, including DT Nesta Jade Silvera and DB Bubba Bolden.
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