Just three days after Everett Withers officially left his position as defensive coordinator at Minnesota to take the same job at North Carolina, it appears the Gophers have found his replacement.
Ted Roof, former head coach at Duke from 2003-07, has accepted the defensive coordinator position for the Gophers, according to the Star Tribune and sources at the University of Louisville.
Prior to his stint as head coach for the Blue Devils, which began in the middle of the 2003 season and ended with a record of 6-45, Roof served as defensive coordinator at Massachusetts, Western Carolina, Georgia Tech and Duke.
The highlight of Roof’s 1-11 2007 campaign at Duke was the end of the Blue Devils’ 22-game losing streak with a victory at Northwestern, a Wildcat team that Minnesota could not beat last season.
Roof is advertised as both an experienced coach and an excellent recruiter, and was an All-ACC linebacker during his playing days at Georgia Tech.
He coached the linebackers for Georgia Tech in 1998 before being elevated to defensive coordinator prior to the 1999 season. In 2000, the Yellow Jacket defense ranked 12th in the nation in rushing defense and 20th in scoring defense, allowing just 19 points per game. Also, Georgia Tech posted a 9-3 record and was ranked 17th in the final national poll. In 2000, Roof was nominated for the Broyles Award, which is given to the nation’s top assistant coach.
In 2001, the Georgia Tech defensive unit ranked third in the ACC in total defense (333.3 ypg) and second in rushing defense (117.1 ypg) – marks that ranked 32nd and 23rd nationally. During Roof’s coaching stint at Georgia Tech, the Yellow Jackets posted a four-year record of 35-14, tied for the 1998 ACC Championship and played in four bowl games (Gator – 1998 & 1999, Peach – 2000, Seattle – 2001).
Roof was hired by Louisville to coach the linebackers shortly after getting fired as head coach at Duke, but now takes over a defense which was nearly last in most of the nation’s defensive categories, including being ranked dead-last in total defense. The Gophers ended their 2007 season with a school-record 6,224 yards.
The 45-year-old becomes the team’s sixth defensive coordinator since 2000 – the third in three years. He is expected to receive a three-year deal worth $350,000 a year, according to the Star Tribune.
