Who is Maurice Linguist? Buffalo coach reportedly hired to Kalen DeBoer's Alabama football staff
Only three days after he was introduced as Alabama’s football coach and undertook the monumental task of succeeding Nick Saban, Kalen DeBoer has wasted little time building his first staff.
In addition to retaining running backs coach Robert Gillespie and defensive line coach Freddie Roach, DeBoer is bringing several assistants over with him from Washington, most notably offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. On Monday, he made one of his biggest hires yet, bringing in South Alabama coach Kane Wommack as co-defensive coordinator.
One day later, he has reportedly added yet another Group of Five head coach to an increasingly impressive staff.
DeBoer is expected to hire Buffalo head coach Maurice Linguist to be an assistant with the Crimson Tide, according to multiple reports, with ESPN noting that Linguist will likely work as co-defensive coordinator with Wommack.
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While Linguist, 39, has had an accomplished coaching career, particularly for someone who still hasn’t turned 40, he’s likely an unfamiliar name for many around Alabama.
Given that, here’s everything you need to know about Linguist as he prepares to join DeBoer in Tuscaloosa:
Maurice Linguist record at Buffalo
Linguist would come to Alabama after a three-year run as the coach at Buffalo, an FBS program in the Mid-American Conference.
Over his three seasons, the Bulls went 14-23 and 10-14 in MAC play. They're coming off a 2023 season in which they went 3-9, and 3-5 in the MAC.
His tenure was highlighted by a 7-6 finish and a Camellia Bowl victory in 2022. After that season, Linguist was reportedly a top candidate for the Cincinnati coaching job, which ultimately went to Louisville coach Scott Satterfield.
Though Linguist had some successes at a historically languishing program, his teams suffered some notable shortcomings, particularly with home losses the past two seasons against FCS opponents (Holy Cross in 2022, Fordham in 2023).
Linguist took over the program from Lance Leipold, who left for Kansas after the 2020 season. Leipold went 24-10 in the final three seasons of his six-year tenure, making a bowl game in each season and even guiding the Bulls into the top 25 of the US LBM Coaches Poll for the first time in program history.
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Maurice Linguist coaching history
Though Linguist was most recently at the Group of Five level, he has Power Five and even NFL coaching experience.
He arrived at Buffalo after one season as the cornerbacks coach with the Dallas Cowboys. Under his watch, the Cowboys had 10 interceptions and were ranked among the top half of NFL teams in passing first downs allowed (fifth), passing yards allowed (11th), completion percentage allowed (10th) and takeaways (ninth).
After that season, he was hired as the co-defensive coordinator at Michigan, but spent only 107 days in that role, with the Buffalo job coming open unexpectedly late in the coaching hiring cycle.
Before accepting the position with the Cowboys, Linguist spent six seasons coaching at the Power Five level, going from Iowa State (2014-15) to Mississippi State (2016) to Minnesota (2017) to Texas A&M (2018-19). He was the defensive backs coach at each school except for Mississippi State, where he was the safeties coach.
Here’s a rundown of Linguist’s full coaching history:
2021-23: Buffalo, head coach
2020: Dallas Cowboys, cornerbacks coach
2018-19: Texas A&M, defensive backs coach
2017: Minnesota, defensive backs coach
2016: Mississippi State, safeties coach
2014-15: Iowa State, defensive backs coach
2012-13: Buffalo, defensive backs coach
2009-11: James Madison, safeties coach
2008: Valdosta State, defensive backs and special teams coach
2007: Baylor, graduate assistant
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Maurice Linguist recruiting
In addition to his on-field coaching contributions, Linguist has established a reputation as a top recruiter. Given the Dallas native’s ties to the south, it’s a skill set that could be particularly useful to DeBoer, who has never coached in the region.
His only two full recruiting classes at Buffalo both ranked in the top 90 nationally, according to 247Sports – No. 85 in 2023, No. 81 in 2022 — an impressive feat for a MAC program. The Bulls’ 2022 recruiting haul ranked it in front of the likes of Arizona State, SMU and, oddly enough, Washington, which signed its class only about two months after DeBoer was hired.
At Texas A&M, he helped the Aggies secure back-to-back top-six recruiting classes. He was the lead recruiter for class of 2020 safety Jaylon Jones, who became the first five-star defensive back to ever sign with Texas A&M.
In his one season at Minnesota, he was the lead recruiter for wide receiver Rashod Bateman, a four-star recruit who went on to earn first-team all-Big Ten honors and become a first-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in the 2021 NFL Draft.
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Maurice Linguist college, playing career
Before getting into coaching, Linguist was a standout college player at Baylor, where he was a defensive back from 2003-06 under coach Guy Morriss.
During that time, he appeared in 42 games, 24 of which he started. As a senior in 2006, he was named the team’s defensive MVP and earned honorable mention all-Big 12 recognition.
An academic all-Big 12 honoree, Linguist earned his bachelor’s degree in communications in 2006 and his master’s degree in health, human performance and recreation in 2007.
Maurice Linguist age
Linguist is 39 years old. He’ll turn 40 on April 1.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Who is Maurice Linguist? Alabama reportedly hires Buffalo coach to staff
