A familiar face is back on the Mesa. San Diego State head coach Rocky Long added Brady Hoke to his coaching staff.
Hoke is taking over as the defensive line coach, to mentor a unit that projects to be short on experience in 2019.
"You try to hire the very best coaches you can hire. Brady is one of the best defensive line coaches I've ever been around," Long said Tuesday afternoon. "He happened to be looking for a job and him and I are buddies so he decided to come here. And he's taking a hell of a cut in pay to come here."
Hoke was the head coach of the Aztecs football team from 2009-2011. He led the Aztecs to a 4-8 record in his first season then flipped the switch and finished 9-4 in his second year. He was coming off a huge 35-14 Poinsettia Bowl win over Navy when he decided to take his “dream job” and coach the Michigan Wolverines.
While at Michigan, Hoke led the Wolverines to a 31-20 record and one Sugar Bowl victory. After being fired in 2014, Hoke has had stints at Oregon as their defensive coordinator and Tennessee as an assistant head coach and defensive line coach. Recently he was the defensive line coach for the Carolina Panthers, but was fired in December.
Long also made Ron Caragher his tight ends coach and passing game coordinator. The former USD head coach and 2011 PFL Coach of the Year served as the Aztecs recruiting coordinator and offensive quality control coach in 2018.
