The Texas Longhorns have a defensive line coach. On Thursday, news broke that the Longhorns had chosen former Miami Dolphins and Western Kentucky assistant Kenny Baker as its defensive line coach.
Baker served as the Dolphins assistant defensive line coach in 2023 after building an impressive reputation in the college ranks at Western Kentucky. More importantly, it appears Baker is a good teacher and culture fit for the team which is all you could ask for at the position.
Culture fit, of course, includes having strong recruiting traits at Texas. The team is uninterested in being average in any sense much less in talent acquisition.
Some will have questions over his ability to recruit because of lack of experience at the college level. But in football hires, traits translate more than track record. It’s why Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian coached in the playoff last season while former national title winner Jimbo Fisher is getting paid not to coach.
Whether or not Baker has the traits will be revealed over the next few seasons. Nevertheless, he has the work ethic and NFL pedigree to potentially win over top recruits.
Texas proved it could recruit defensive linemen without a defensive line coach this week. Baker will look to prove he can leverage the power of the Texas brand in recruiting as the team’s next defensive line coach.
NEW: In hiring #Dolphins assistant DL coach Kenny Baker, #Texas coach Steve Sarkisian is getting a rising star known as "an elite teacher and developer of talent" with energy to burn on the recruiting trail, sources told 247Sports' Matt Zenitz and myself.https://t.co/5VYuDHWWJB
— Chip Brown (@ChipBrown247) January 25, 2024