Miami Hurricanes DC Kevin Steele in 2022 National Spotlight

New Miami Hurricanes co-defensive coordinator Kevin Steele brings over 40 years as a college coach to his new position. Steele was the head coach at Baylor from 1999 through 2002 and has 11 years of experience as a DC. Upgrading the play at linebacker will be the biggest priority for Steele and CO-DC Charlie Strong.

Strong is also the Miami LB coach. Steele was out of football in 2021. Mario Cristobal has received a lot of praise nationally for the staff he has hired. Miami has signed 11 transfers entering the 2022 season. Seven of the transfers are on defense. Five defensive line transfers have joined the Miami football program.

The Miami defense needs major improvement over 2021. Miami was 84th allowing 28.4 points per game and 75th allowing 389.6 yards per game. Early in the tenure of the previous coaching staff, Miami had one of the best defenses in the country. The addition of the seven transfers on defense should provide a major boost.

Miami has a good foundation returning defensively. Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, defensive tackles Jared Harrison-Hunte and Leonard Taylor and safeties Kamren Kinchen, Avantae Williams and James Williams all showed promise for the Miami Hurricanes in 2021. Mike Huguenin of On3.Com profiled Steele.

"Kevin Steele, Miami DCThe new coach: Mario CristobalThe skinny: Steele, a longtime coach who was out of football last season, was set to become coordinator at Maryland. Instead, the contract never got signed and he ended up at Miami. The Hurricanes’ defense the past two seasons was not good.UM’s secondary had trouble against teams that made it a priority to throw; UM’s front seven had trouble against teams that made it a priority to run. A lack of talent certainly was an issue, and that is something that Cristobal figures to solve. But that is going to take at least one more recruiting cycle.This season, Steele’s top priority is meshing a bunch of key transfers (among them, UCLA E Mitchell Agude, UCLA LB Caleb Johnson, West Virginia T Ahkeem Mesidor and Maryland T Darrell Jackson) with a handful of talented holdovers.The Hurricanes have finished in the top four in total defense in the ACC just three times in the past 10 seasons. That has to change."

Huguenin listed Steele as one of 10 “These coordinators on new staffs already in spotlight.” Also included is new Notre Dame DC and former Miami Hurricanes head coach Al Golden. Agude, Johnson, Mesidor and his former West Virginia teammate, CB Darryl Porter Jr. are likely to start for Miami in 2022.

Jackson had 22 tackles as a true freshman in 2021. Miami begins the season against FCS Bethune-Cookman and hosts Southern Mississippi before traveling to Texas A&M week three. Steele and Strong are high-profile names who will be in the spotlight from the beginning of the season.