Official: Mizzou hires TCU’s DeMontie Cross as def. coordinator
Missouri’s head coach and defensive coordinator will both be former Tiger football players.
First reported by PowerMizzou.com, new Missouri coach Barry Odom is hiring DeMontie Cross to be the team’s new defensive coordinator. Cross currently serves as the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at TCU. The team made the hire official Friday morning.
“I’m so excited to have this opportunity to work with Coach Odom and contribute to a place that has given me so much,” Cross said in a statement. “Mizzou is in my blood, it’s the place that made me the man and the coach that I am today. It’s also a dream come true for me to work alongside a guy I’ve known for so long. Coach Odom and I have had a strong bond on and off the field, and I’m excited to come in and support him and his vision in every aspect imaginable.
Cross is Missouri’s second-leading career tackler. He played safety at the school from 1994-1996. Odom played at Missouri from 1996-1999. Odom was the team’s defensive coordinator in 2015 under coach Gary Pinkel, who retired because of a lymphoma diagnosis he received earlier in the season.
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Missouri hired Utah State offensive coordinator Josh Heupel to the same position on Thursday. Heupel was with the Aggies for a season after he was fired from the offensive coordinator position at Oklahoma.
Cross began his coaching career at Missouri while Odom was still a player. He was a coach with the team from 1998-1999 and served as TCU’s linebackers coach for 2013 and 2014 before he was promoted to co-defensive coordinator in 2015.
For more Missouri news, visit PowerMizzou.com.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
