FIU's Clark to coach USF defensive line

On Thursday night, Florida International defensive coordinator Bernard Clark told me he needed to talk with his wife Tammy about an offer to coach USF's defensive line and sleep on it before he made a decision.

He called me at 8:30 a.m. Friday morning with news that he'd accepted USF's offer and was coming home to Tampa. Clark, 39, is a Leto graduate who starred as a linebacker at Miami, helping the Hurricanes to two national titles and spending two seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. He's run FIU's defense the past two years and will replace Earl Lane, who resigned two weeks ago and is now defensive line coach at LSU.

I'll have plenty more on this later today and tomorrow, but Clark couldn't seem happier about the chance to come home to Tampa, be closer to his parents and his wife's family and move into a top conference like the Big East. It's a tough sacrifice to go from being a coordinator to being a position coach, but he seems to recognize all the positives, on a personal and professional level, that could come with this move.

Here's a link to today's story about USF's offer and more on his background.

Comments

[Anonymous]

Now if Clark can bring Don Strock with him as our QB coach :)

[941]

Appears to be great fit. If he performs well, he's a good candidate for a future co-defensive coordinator role.