The Cougar defense has been a sore spot for most of recent history, and in the last few years, most of the blame has fallen on the defensive line. The blame cost positional coach Jim Jeffcoat his job. On Tuesday, Kevin Sumlin filled the vacancy, hiring Carlton Hall, who had held the same position at Harvard.
In addition to coaching one of the best run defenses at the 1-AA level the last four years with the Crimson, Hall recruited the southern area of the United States, including Texas and Louisiana.
This will be Hall's first job at the 1-A level. Obviously, he doesn't have the name recognition that Jeffcoat had coming in, but star players don't necessarily make the best coaches. Hall will have some experienced players coming back, but he faces the pressure of getting production out of an underperforming unit. If he has some immediate success, it could be the last piece of the puzzle for the Cougars.