Louisville football to add a pair of coaches to defensive staff
Louisville football is hiring Bowling Green secondary coach and pass game coordinator, Derrick Jackson, and Murray State defensive line coach Me’Leick Miles to its 2026 football staff, according to On3’s Pete Nakos.
Miles will serve in a defensive quality control role, while Jackson will be a senior defensive assistant.
Louisville has already made changes to the defensive coaching staff this offseason. Co-defensive coordinators of the last three years, Ron English and Mark Hagen, will not return as longtime linebackers coach Mark Ivey and cornerbacks coach Steve Ellis step in to lead the defense. In Ivey’s place, Adam Mueller will take over the linebacker position group, and the Cards also added a defensive tackles coach in Jontavius Morris. Both had previous coaching or playing experience under Jeff Brohm.
Miles, who was a member of the 2023 Louisville staff that appeared in the ACC Championship Game as a graduate assistant, has spent the last two seasons at Murray State. An Indianapolis native, Miles began his coaching career after graduating from and playing at Trine, where he is the school’s all-time sack leader. His first time on staff was as a special teams coordinator at Franklin College. From there, he made his way to Purdue, where he worked under Brohm.
Jackson will join Louisville with over 25 years of coaching experience, and he also spent two seasons of his career under Jeff Brohm at Purdue, coaching cornerbacks. Notable positions held by Jackson include Wake Forest linebackers coach, Syracuse co-defensive coordinator, NIU associate head coach, Michigan State defensive line, and more. In his first season, 2023, leading the secondary at Bowling Green, Jackson’s group was No. 4 in the nation with 17 interceptions as the Falcons led the nation totaling 28 takeaways.
With years of experience, Jackson will be active in the recruiting trail and help work with two first-time coordinators in Ellis and Ivey. Louisville is currently tasked with replacing former offensive line coach Richard Owens, who is taking a job with an SEC power.
Don’t miss out on Cardinal Sports +
- Our premium community forums
- A full year of access to The Athletic
- Get a fast start on finding out breaking news and behind-the-scenes details
- In-depth Louisville basketball and football analysis
- On3 and Rivals national membership
Join the discussion at Cardinal Sports.
