KSR Coaching Hot Board: Identifying potential inside linebacker candidates

Mark Stoops is staying in Lexington, but KSR’s Coaching Hot Board is up and running in this year’s version of the coaching carousel.

On Thursday night, Troy announced that Kentucky inside linebackers coach Jon Sumrall will be the next head coach of the Trojans. For the second time in his tenure, Stoops has lost an assistant coach to the head chair at Troy.

Currently, the coaching staff is focused on the early signing day that is less than two weeks away. As that begins to wrap up, the focus will shift towards finding a new assistant coach.

KSR is here to jump-start that search with a hot board list of candidates. These are the names to know as Kentucky goes searching for a new assistant coach to fill a role on Brad White’s defense.

Christian Robinson (Florida)

A linebacker at Georgia from 2009-12, Christian Robinson started 17 games for Mark Richt and played under defensive coordinator Todd Grantham. After serving as a graduate assistant at both Georgia and Ole Miss from 2013-16, Robinson re-joined Grantham at Mississippi State when Dan Mullen hired him to run the defense.

After one season, Robinson followed the coaching staff and earned his first on-field coaching role in 2018. After four seasons, Robinson is now looking for a job but is currently the interim defensive coordinator for the Gators following the dismissal of Grantham.

Robinson is just entering his 30s, but the young assistant already has a ton of SEC experience under his belt. A Metro Atlanta native, Robinson has recruited the SEC footprint well with commitments from top-100 prospects Derek Wingo, Scooby Williams, Jahari Rogers, and Ty’Ron Hopper during his time in Gainesville.

Mark Stoops talked fondly about Todd Grantham before Kentucky’s win over the Gators in October. That healthy relationship could help the Wildcats strike up a conversation with Robinson.

Blake Baker (LSU)

After a strong tenure at Louisiana Tech under Skip Holtz, Blake Baker took the Miami defensive coordinator job under Manny Diaz. In Ruston, Baker had a pair of top-50 yards per play allowed defenses.

However, the Tulane alum lasted just two seasons in Coral Gables before Diaz decided to make a change and take over defensive play-calling.

Baker landed at LSU but is now on the hunt for a job following the dismissal of Ed Orgeron and the hiring of Brian Kelly.

On the recruiting trail, Baker showed some legit chops at Miami helping land five-star defensive tackle Leonard Taylor. At LSU, Baker helped land four-star linebacker DeMario Tolan.

With Marcus Freeman staying at Notre Dame, it would make sense for Kelly to retain the 39-year-old assistant. If he gets out of Baton Rouge, Kentucky should kick the tires.

Brian Landis (Georgia State)

In some recent hires, Mark Stoops has shown a blueprint. The head coach is not afraid to promote or bring back an assistant who is familiar with the program.

Brian Landis would fit that description.

The linebackers coach at Georgia State played his college ball at Georgetown (Ky.) College before coaching the Tigers for over a decade. After time served at the NAIA school, Landis would head to the FCS to coach defensive backs at Eastern Kentucky in 2015. Then, he accepted a job on the Kentucky staff in 2016 working in a quality control (QC) role with the linebackers.

Landis would then move on to spend three seasons as the head coach at Lexington (Ky.) Frederick Douglass High from 2017-19 where he accumulated a 35-5 record in three seasons. That same high school will have three players on the Kentucky roster next year.

Landis worked with current Kentucky secondary coach Chris Collins for one season in Atlanta. Anwar Stewart also stepped away quickly from the program after having a QC role with the staff and was brought back by Mark Stoops to coach the defensive line.

The same thing could happen for Landis.

Matt House (Kansas City Chiefs)

The Kansas City Chiefs are fresh off of consecutive AFC Championships, but Andy Reid’s team has had some defensive issues this season.

The Chiefs seemed to have turned it around in recent weeks with four consecutive wins where the defense has held each opponent for 14 points or less.

However, if a change is made in Kansas City, a familiar name could become a possibility for Kentucky.

Matt House was on the staff in Lexington from 2016-18 with the last two seasons spent as the defensive coordinator. The Michigan State alum did some strong recruiting work in Georgia and turned down the Tennessee defensive coordinator gig in the offseason to stay in the NFL.

If relieved of his duties, Kentucky could provide a landing spot.

Aaron Curry (Seattle Seahawks)

A top-five draft pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, Curry would spend six seasons in the NFL before making the transition to coaching. The Wake Forest product served as a graduate assistant and defensive line coach for the Charlotte 49ers from 2014-18 and has been an assistant coach on the Seahawks staff for the last three years.

Why is Curry a candidate? There appears to be a legitimate Wake Forest connection between him and Brad White.

White returned to his alma mater in 2007 to serve as a graduate assistant under head coach Jim Grobe for two seasons. While in Winston-Salem, Curry was on the roster. When Curry decided to hang up his pads, he went to work for Brad Lambert at Charlotte. Lambert was White’s position coach when the Kentucky defensive coordinator played at Wake Forest.

There are strong connections available, and Mark Stoops has been more than willing to dip into the NFL for coaching talent in recent hires. Curry is currently an assistant linebackers coach with the Seahawks.

D.J. Eliot

Mark Stoops is friends with D.J. Eliot. There is no denying that. Eliot was a graduate assistant at Miami when Stoops was on staff, and the duo made the move from Florida State to Kentucky together. However, things just did not work for Eliot in four seasons as a defensive coordinator in Lexington.

After calling defenses for four more years at both Colorado and Kansas, the 45-year-old assistant took the 2021 season off. However, there is a strong relationship that must be considered. Stoops just brought a former coordinator back into the facility with the hiring of Eddie Gran to a chief of staff type role.

2012 ACC Champions! Great memory. @UKCoachStoops @CoachGran pic.twitter.com/goWN229ZvC

— DJ Eliot (@CoachEliot) December 1, 2021

Eliot feels like a long shot, but it would not be a surprise at all if Stoops brought his former assistant into the building for a support staff type of role this offseason.