Miami officially announces new defensive line coach
Mario Cristobal’s staff at Miami is taking shape. The Hurricanes announced their new defensive line coach/associate head coach/run game coordinator on Friday.
Joe Salave’a, who worked under Cristobal at Oregon, is following his former boss to Miami. Salave’a played 12 years in the NFL as a defensive tackle before joining the college coaching ranks in 2008.
“What an honor,” Salave’a said in a statement through a press release. “I’m blessed to have the opportunity to continue to work for Coach Cristobal. The opportunity here is tremendous. I want to get to work – I want to get to know our guys in the building and connect with them, start putting together the pieces and really start this entire process.”
Salave’a got his coaching start with San Jose State in 2008 as defensive line coach before a year at his alma mater, Arizona, in 2011. He then went to Washington State from 2012-16 and joined forces with Cristobal at Oregon in 2017. Cristobal was an assistant coach with Salave’a, but kept him on staff after he moved up to head coach.
“The University of Miami is committed to physicality and controlling the line of scrimmage,” Cristobal said in a statement. “Coach Salave’a’s eight years in the trenches of the NFL and his college coaching experience are the driving forces behind an elite recruiter, coach and developer of the talent. Coach Salave’a is a tremendous leader of men, and I know that mental and physical toughness will be traits of the Miami Hurricanes defensive line. He will make his impact felt in the culture and identity of our program.”
Bryan McClendon joins Mario Cristobal at Miami
Miami head coach Mario Cristobal officially announced the Hurricanes new wide receiver coach and co-offensive coordinator on Wednesday night.
Bryan McClendon will be joining Cristobal’s staff once again, according to Manny Navarro of The Athletic. Yahoo Sports Pete Thamel was the first to report Miami was targeting McClendon on Jan. 4.
McClendon, who played at Georgia, got his coaching start with the Bulldogs in 2007. He worked his way up from a graduate assistant in 2007 to assistant head coach and, eventually, Bulldogs interim head coach in 2015. During that time, McClendon also spent time as a recruiting coordinator, meaning he brings some southeast recruiting experience to Cristobal’s staff, as well.
He then became the offensive coordinator at South Carolina from 2016-19. After that, he took over as Oregon’s passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach from 2020-21.