Ole Miss to hire Western Kentucky's Maurice Crum, Jr. as linebackers coach

After filling the special teams coordinator vacancy last weekend, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin has filled his final open spot on his coaching staff ahead of spring practice.

Ole Miss is set to hire Western Kentucky’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Maurice Crum, Jr., per OMSpirit’s Ben Garrett.

Before he arrived in Bowling Green, Ky., Crum spent three seasons on Charlie Weis’ staff at Kansas as a defensive graduate assistant (2012), Assistant Director of Operations (2013) and Director of High School Relations (2014). After he returned to Notre Dame as a defensive graduate assistant in 2015 and spent one season at Indiana State as a cornerbacks coach.

Once he got to WKU, Crum immediately made an impact. In 2017, Crum coached junior Joel Iyiegbuniwe to an All-CUSA First Team season. Iyiegbuniwe led the Hilltoppers in tackles (116), good for third in Hilltoppers history in a single season. He also led the team in tackles for loss (11.5). He declared for the NFL Draft a year early and was selected 115th overall in the fourth round by the Chicago Bears.

During his second year at WKU, Crum coached Ben Holt at linebacker who became another record-setting linebacker under his direction. He set WKU’s record for tackles per game (9.67) with 116 total in 12 games, a mark which ranks fourth in C-USA history and his 116 total tackles were the third-most among league players in the regular season. Senior Masai Whyte finished the regular season with 76 total tackles and finished 22nd in C-USA.

In his final season as linebackers coach, Crum’s unit once again turned in a record-breaking performance. Kyle Bailey led WKU with 109 tackles and three interceptions. He was one of only seven defenders with at least 100 tackles and three picks a year. As a team, WKU produced a top 25 defense and only allowed 20.1 total points per game, good enough for No. 22 in the nation.

WKU was 6th nationally (29.7 percent) in third down defense and third in the country with only 82 missed tackles all year long. With 835 total plays in 13 games, which equated to about 6.3 per contest and one every 10 snaps. Only Michigan (74) and Air Force (81) was better. The Hilltoppers were also 15th in first downs allowed, 19th in red zone defense, 24th in total defense and 28th in passing yards allowed.

During Crum’s first year as defensive coordinator, WKU’s defense finished eighth in passing yards allowed (177.3), 28th in total yards allowed (348.7) and 41st in points allowed (25.3) per game. In 2021, his defense finished 2nd in the country in interceptions (21) and returned two for touchdowns, 44th in sacks, 46th in passing efficiency defense, 59th in tackles for loss and 64th in red zone defense.

Western Kentucky gave up 38.4 points per game during its 1-4 start. Prior to their C-USA title game against UTSA, the Hilltoppers only gave up 18.9 in its last seven games – all wins. And despite being ranked 90th in SP+ defense, Crum’s defense gave up 21 points or less in eight games a year ago.

The former linebacker prospect from Riverview, Fla. signed with Notre Dame in 2005 and was a team captain during his time in South Bend, Ind. During his playing career for the Fighting Irish, Crum played in 50 games with 42 consecutive starts and made 306 tackles, including 23 tackles for loss and eight sacks. He ranks 11th in Notre Dame history in total tackles. A two-time team captain in 2007 and 2008, Crum is one of only 17 players in school history to accomplish such a feat.