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Official: Tennessee hires Brady Hoke as defensive line coach

Brady Hoke spent the 2016 season as defensive coordinator at Oregon. (AP Photo/Chris Pietsch)
Brady Hoke spent the 2016 season as defensive coordinator at Oregon. (AP Photo/Chris Pietsch)

UPDATED FEB. 7

It’s official. Former Michigan coach and Oregon defensive coordinator Brady Hoke is Tennessee’s defensive line coach.

“We feel extremely fortunate to get someone of Coach Hoke’s caliber that will continue to develop our defensive linemen while also providing expertise and experience to all of our players and coaching staff,” Tennessee coach Butch Jones said in a statement. “He has an extensive track record of success as a head coach and on the defensive side of the ball. He will be a great fit to our entire organization.”

In addition to Hoke, the school also announced the hire of Walt Wells as the team’s offensive line coach.

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Brady Hoke is reportedly headed to the SEC.

After a disastrous year as defensive coordinator at Oregon, the former Michigan head coach has landed at Tennessee as the Vols’ defensive line coach, according to 247Sports and Fox Sports.

Hoke’s four-year stint as Wolverines head coach ended in 2014. After a year away from the sidelines, he was hired by Mark Helfrich as the Ducks’ defensive coordinator before the 2016 campaign. When Helfrich was fired by Oregon after going 4-8 in 2016, Hoke, whose defense was one of the worst in the country, was not retained by the new staff.

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Hoke, who also served as head coach at San Diego State and Ball State, worked his way up the coaching ranks as a defensive line coach at Western Michigan, Oregon State and Michigan, among other stops.

At Tennessee, he is slated to replace Steve Stripling (who will stay at UT in a “chief of staff” role, per 247) on Bob Shoop’s defensive staff. In 2016, the Vols were No. 104 nationally in rush defense, allowing 218.5 yards per game, and No. 95 in the country in total defense (449.2 yards per game).

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The Vols started 5-0 in 2016 but ended up finishing 9-4 and second in the SEC East.

For more Tennessee news, visit VolQuest.com.

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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!