Mizzou taps former Texas assistant Brick Haley to take over defensive line

Missouri has hired its fourth defensive line coach in the last year, announcing Friday that Brick Haley had been tapped for the position.

Haley, 50, comes to the Tigers from Texas, where he served as defensive line coach for the last two seasons.

Prior to serving on former Longhorns coach Charlie Strong’s staff, Haley spent six seasons as LSU’s defensive line coach, three with the Chicago Bears and three with Mississippi State.

“I’m very excited to have the opportunity to work with Brick Haley,” coach Barry Odom said in a release from MU Athletics. “I have had tremendous respect for him over the years. He will be a great mentor and teacher for our student-athletes and will bring leadership and coaching qualities that will make Mizzou Football better in every way.”

Haley also served as Baylor’s defensive coordinator from 1999-2001 and worked stints as a linebackers coach at Georgia Tech (2002-03), Clemson (1998) and Houston (1997).

After playing linebacker at Alabama A&M, Haley started his coaching career as the defensive line coach at Austin Peay (1991-93) and Troy State (1994-96).

“I’m very pleased and really excited to be joining Coach Odom’s program,” said Haley, a graduate assistant in 1990 at Arkansas, in a statement. “We haven’t worked together, but I’m very aware of him and the reputation he has in the coaching profession. I look at this as an unbelievable opportunity to work with someone who has such an impressive passion and work ethic. It didn’t take me long in our conversations to know that coach Odom is the right guy and someone you want to work with. I believe that Mizzou is a place where the sky is the limit, and I’m looking forward to being part of the program.”

Haley replaces former Oklahoma defensive line coach Jackie Shipp, who was fired in late November “due to an internal matter where his conduct didn’t meet our expectations for coaches,” according to a statement from Odom.

Odom inherited a staff that included Craig Kuligowski, who worked as Mizzou’s defensive line coach during all 15 seasons under former coach Gary Pinkel.

Initially, Odom hired Chris Wilson to replace Kuligowski, who was not retained, but Wilson resigned within a month to take a job with the Philadelphia Eagles.

That led Odom to hire Shipp away from Arizona State. Shipp previously worked on the same staff with Missouri offensive coordinator Josh Heupel at Oklahoma.

Haley, who received a $235,000 raise in May and made $495,000 last season, reportedly turned down an opportunity to leave for Texas A&M last February, but Strong’s firing left him without a job after Texas hired Tom Herman.

During his various coaching stops, Haley coached several notable defensive linemen — including Texas’ Hassan Ridgeway, as well as LSU’s Michael Brockers, Barkevious Mingo and Danielle Hunter.

He also helped Tommie Harris reach the Pro Bowl with the Bears in 2007.

Texas led the Big 12 with 41 sacks and 91 tackles for a loss last season, ranking fifth in the Football Bowl Subdivision in sacks per game and 16th in tackles for loss per game.

The Longhorns also ranked fifth nationally in sacks per game in 2015 under Haley.

He is a native of Gadsen, Ala., and has three sons — Adrian, A.J. and Jeremy — with his wife, Tina.

This story was originally published December 9, 2016 at 3:23 PM with the headline "Mizzou taps former Texas assistant Brick Haley to take over defensive line."