Missouri Tigers Defensive Line Coach Chris Wilson Bolts for Philadelphia Eagles
The Missouri Tigers are back in the market for a defensive line coach after Chris Wilson suddenly bolted for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Much to the dismay of new Missouri Tigers head football coach Barry Odom and his staff, the Philadelphia Eagles announced on Wednesday that their new defensive line coach is Chris Wilson. Wilson, of course, had been hired by Odom on December 18 to serve as the Tigers’ defensive line coach in 2016. But after just 38 days on the job at Mizzou, Wilson apparently found an offer from new Eagles head coach Doug Pederson too good to ignore.
This will be Wilson’s first NFL position coaching job, as his FBS coaching career has previously taken him to Colorado, Oklahoma, Mississippi State, Georgia, and USC. Via Yahoo!’s Eric Edholm on Wednesday, Pederson said that Wilson “wanted the position–he made it known he wanted the position. I came away feeling really good and comfortable and look forward to working with him for many years.” With Philadelphia, Wilson will get the opportunity to coach one of his former players from Mississippi State, defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, though it’s unclear whether that’s the primary reason that he felt compelled to spurn Mizzou for greener pastures after just more than a month.
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Wilson leaves Mizzou just a week before National Signing Day, which will leave the team scrambling to fill the position. Wilson’s departure is perhaps karma coming back to bite Odom, who apparently played an active role in the departure of defensive line coach Craig Kuligowski. Kuligowski, one of the best position coaches in the country, had been at Mizzou from 2001 to 2015 under Gary Pinkel and had sent numerous players to the NFL during his tenure with the Tigers. Kuligowski accepted the defensive line coach position at the University of Miami, meaning that he wouldn’t be available even if Odom was able to work things out with his former fellow defensive assistant (though we probably shouldn’t assume that anything’s off the table, considering what happened with Wilson).
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Since Kuligowski left, the Tigers have received two commitments on the defensive line, which came from defensive end Marvin Terry of Dallas, TX, and defensive tackle Markell Utsey of Little Rock, AR. Utsey will be a particularly worrisome case as the coaches try to keep him around, seeing as he de-committed from Arizona in the first place before committing to Mizzou. They’ll also need to assure defensive end Tre Williams, who committed last summer, that he’ll be playing for a reputable coach this fall.
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Obviously the pickings will be slim for the Tigers now that nearly all the Division I coaching staffs have now been assembled. With that said, it might be a blessing in disguise if Odom can find an NFL defensive line coach that was recently let go and lure him to Mizzou.