Missouri Tigers Could be Significantly Affected if Craig Kuligowski Departs
According to FootballScoop, Missouri Tigers defensive line coach Craig Kuligowski has been offered the co-defensive coordinator/defensive line coach job at the University of Illinois and is expected to accept:
This is big… per sources, Missouri defensive line coach Craig Kuligowski has been offered Co-DC / DL at Illinois http://t.co/sNnVtz3C1h
— FootballScoop (@FootballScoop) January 26, 2015
Our understanding is that Kuligowski is expected to accept the position at Illinois. Very big hire for Tim Beckman http://t.co/sNnVtz3C1h
— FootballScoop (@FootballScoop) January 26, 2015
The loss of the 46-year-old Kuligowski would be a massive blow to the Tiger football program. After entering the coaching ranks on current Mizzou coach Gary Pinkel’s staff at Toledo from 1992 to 2000, Kuligowski joined the Mizzou staff and has been there ever since.
With the amount of impact players that he’s developed, Kuligowski could make a great argument as the best defensive line coach in the country. Over his 15 years at Mizzou, “Coach Kool” has seen nine of his players— C.J. Mosley, Atiyyah Ellison, Brian Smith, Stryker Sulak, Ziggy Hood, Aldon Smith, Sheldon Richardson, Michael Sam, and Kony Ealy—be selected in the NFL Draft, with Richardson, Ealy, and the two Smiths going in the first round. His two starting defensive ends from 2014, Markus Golden and Shane Ray, are projected as likely first-round picks in this year’s draft, and junior defensive tackle Harold Brantley is positioning himself as a first-round prospect for the 2016 draft.
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In addition, two other Mizzou defensive linemen who originally went undrafted—New York Giants defensive tackle Dominique Hamilton and Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Jacquies Smith—were on NFL rosters during 2014. After being picked up on waivers in Week 2 of the season, Smith led Bucs defensive ends in sacks with 6.5.
It’s not like Kuligowski has received plenty of superstar prospects that have been plug-and-play guys, either. Players like Richardson and Ealy were heralded recruits, but Aldon Smith, Hood, Golden and Ray were three-star prospects, while Sam and Brantley were two-star recruits according to rivals.com. Their success in ascending to highly-regarded draft prospects, along with the general success of the Mizzou football program, has motivated superstar recruits such as East St. Louis’s Terry Beckner Jr., ESPN’s second-rated recruit in the entire country, and Ladue’s Nate Howard to consider Mizzou. It will be interesting to see if their interest wanes if Kuligowski departs.
Things seemingly turned sour for Kuligowski’s future at Mizzou when he was passed up for the defensive coordinator role following Steckel’s departure. Instead of promoting Kuligowski, the Tigers recruited former safeties coach Barry Odom, who had been the defensive coordinator at the University of Memphis, to return in the coordinator role.
While the move is risky for Kuligowski—Illini head coach Tim Beckman has yet to register a .500 record in his three years in Champaign—it presumably will give the veteran defensive line coach a pay increase and a well-deserved chance at a coordinator job. With the great work he’s done at Mizzou, he obviously won’t be out of work for long even if the situation in Illinois doesn’t end up working long-term.
Kuligowski’s departure would lead to a near-complete restructuring of Mizzou’s defensive staff this offseason. Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Dave Steckel departed to become the head coach at Missouri State following the Tigers’ victory in the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl, and safeties coach Alex Grinch recently accepted the defensive coordinator job at Washington State.
With the loss of those two plus Kuligowski, cornerbacks coach Cornell Ford will be the only position coach to return from the 2014 defensive staff. Odom will fill either the safeties or linebackers coach position, but if Kuligowski indeed departs the team will be faced with filling two position coach vacancies.
It’s unclear what the Tigers will do to replace Kuligowski. Former Mizzou defensive lineman Phil Pitts, who had been the head coach at Helias high school in Jefferson City, Missouri, joined the staff last week as a defensive analyst and would be a logical candidate for consideration.