The departure of Miami Hurricanes linebackers coach Derek Nicholson to take the same position at Missouri should not have come as a surprise. New Miami defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman has coached LBs throughout his career. Hetherman coached LBs last season in his only year as the defensive coordinator at Minnesota.
Nicholson spent the last two seasons coaching at Miami. After the 2023 season, Nicholson was elevated to co-defensive coordinator. Before being hired by Miami, Nicholson had two stints as an assistant coach at Louisville, one year at Alcorn State and multiple years at Southern Mississippi.
During his two seasons at Miami, Nicholson was the primary recruiter for the Hurricanes signing LBs Adarius Hayes, Kellen Wiley, Cameron Pruitt and Ezekiel Marcellin. Nicholson was also the primary recruiter for LBs Jaylin Alderman and K.J. Cloyd signing at Louisville. Alderman and Cloyd eventually transferred to Miami.
Nicholson coached Francisco Mauigoa to an All-ACC season in 2023. Mauigoa had 82 tackles, 18.0 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, four passes defended and one forced fumble. Mauigoa improved to 96 tackles and six passes defended in 2024, but the rest of his numbers regressed.
Missouri is expected to hire Miami’s Derek Nicholson as its new linebackers coach, a source tells @CBSSports/@247Sports.
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) January 16, 2025
Nicholson was co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Miami the last two years after previously working at Louisville. (ESPN 1st).… pic.twitter.com/KDLVYgXIYL
Miami LB coach Derek Nicholson is heading to Missouri
Pro Football Focus recorded Mauigoa with 18 missed tackles in 2024 compared to 10 in 2023 and 330 receiving yards allowed in 2024 compared to 186 yards in 2023 per David Lake of Inside the U. Miami has to replace Mauigoa at middle LB in 2025. Wesley Bissainthe, who started at weakside LB, and Pruitt are among the candidates to start at MLB in 2025.
Hetherman coaching LBs for Miami in 2025 is a strong possibility. Otherwise, expect Mario Cristobal and Hetherman to search for Nicholson's replacement together. Hetherman would likely look to his past jobs as connections for Miami to hire a new LBs coach if that is the direction the Hurricanes choose to take.