Blake Baker officially accepted a position at LSU to train linebackers under Ed Orgeron.
Baker has been Miami’s defensive coordinator for the past two seasons, but this offseason Manny Diaz announced that he would be handling the game by calling defense duties in 2021.
Miami’s defense dropped slightly in 2020, allowing for 408 yards per game, which ranked 67th nationally and 51st in the country in defense scores with 27 points per game.
The lowest point defensively came during a 62-26 loss to North Carolina, in which hurricanes allowed 778 yards of total attack, including 554 yards.
The last time Diaz was a defensive coordinator for UM and called up full-time play in 2018, Hurricanes were one of the best defenses in the country, ranking 18th in the country in defense goals with 19.5 points per game and fourth nationally in total defense of 278 yards per game.
The Hurricanes made changes to the defensive technical team to deal with that side of the ball, signing Travaris Robinson as a secondary coach, Jess Simpson as a defensive line coach and DeMarcus Van Dyke as linebacker coach.
Former security and co-defensive coordinator Ephraim Banda left for the state of Utah on his own to assume the post of defensive coordinator there.
Former defensive line coach Todd Stroud and former cornerback coach Mike Rumph were not hired for these roles, but the two remain in the program off the field.
Jonathan Patke will be the only remaining defensive assistant coach in the 2020 season. Patke will continue to train attackers and serve as coordinator of special teams.
Baker served as a defensive coordinator at Louisiana Tech for four seasons. He also worked with Diaz in Texas.
The 2021 UM defense will have to replace the productive pass rushers Quincy Roche and Jaelan Phillips, but UM returns a lot of talent on that side of the ball, including DT Nesta Jade Silvera and DB Bubba Bolden.