Red Wolves' coaching shuffle continues

Four members from ASU's 2018 football coaching staff -- defensive coordinator Joe Cauthen, assistant head coach and cornerbacks coach Trooper Taylor, defensive line coach Brian Early, and running backs coach and special teams coordinator Norval McKenzie -- have left Jonesboro in the past 48 hours for other jobs.

Seven total members of last season's staff were either fired or have found work elsewhere since the Arizona Bowl on Dec. 29, leaving the Red Wolves in need of restocking 70 percent of their coaching staff and sending the program into a hiring frenzy since Monday morning.

"The fact that they all hit at the same time was shocking," a source with knowledge of Arkansas State University's coaching staff movement told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Tuesday. "It's been a crazy 48 hours."

A second anonymous source confirmed the changes.

Three of Coach Blake Anderson's primary offensive assistants from 2018 -- offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, offensive line coach Allen Rudolph and outside wide receivers coach Chris Buckner -- were fired shortly after ASU's 16-13 loss to Nevada. ASU announced last week it refilled all three positions.

Cauthen and Early were hired by the University of Houston for the same positions Monday. Their tenures at Houston began Tuesday, Early confirmed.

ASU announced Tuesday afternoon it has hired David Duggan as defensive coordinator. Duggan, a former Western Michigan linebackers coach and special teams coordinator from 2016-18, worked with Anderson at the University of Southern Mississippi as a linebackers coach from 2008-11, and he added the title of co-defensive coordinator in 2011.

Brandon Joiner -- ASU's first-year defensive graduate assistant and former two-year ASU defensive lineman from 2010-11 who was named Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year in 2011 -- was elevated to defensive ends coach, which will become a new addition to ASU's defensive coaching staff, a source confirmed.

The Red Wolves are expected to name a defensive tackles coach soon to work beside Joiner.

Trooper Taylor, a five-year defensive backs coach at ASU who was elevated to become Anderson's assistant head coach three seasons ago, was confirmed to have accepted a job at Duke University on Tuesday.

Taylor did not immediately respond to the Democrat-Gazette's attempts to reach him to confirm his move to become Duke's wide receivers coach, which was first reported by FootballScoop and Fox Sports on Tuesday.

Taylor's son, Blaise Taylor, is a current defensive graduate assistant at Duke and was coached by his father as an ASU defensive back from 2014-17.

Arkansas State coaching staff changes

Offensive coordinator

2018: Buster Faulkner — fired

2019: Keith Heckendorf — hired Jan. 9

Defensive coordinator

2018: Joe Cauthen — hired by Houston

2019: David Duggan — hired Tuesday

Assistant head coach

2018: Trooper Taylor — hired by Duke

2019: TBA

Defensive line coach

2018: Brian Early — hired by Houston

2019: Brandon Joiner (DE coach) — hired Jan. 15; DT coach TBA

Offensive line coach

2018: Allen Rudolph — fired

2019: Sean Coughlin — hired Jan. 9

Outside wide receivers coach

2018: Chris Buckner — fired

2019: Malcolm Kelly — hired Jan. 9

Running backs coach

2018: Norval McKenzie — hired by Louisville

2019: TBA

Defensive backs coach

2018: Trooper Taylor (cornerbacks) and Allen Johnson (safeties)

2019: Allen Johnson — became defensive backs coach Tuesday

Special teams coordinator

2018: Norval McKenzie — hired by Louisville

2019: TBA

Strength and conditioning

2018: Pat Ivey — left school in January

2019: Jake Miller - hired Jan. 9

Allen Johnson, the lone survivor from Anderson's original coaching staff prior to the 2014 season, will move from safeties coach to defensive backs coach, which includes cornerbacks as he will become Taylor's replacement.

The University of Louisville announced Tuesday it has officially hired McKenzie to become the Cardinals' new running backs coach under Coach Scott Satterfield, who was hired away from Appalachian State University to become Louisville's head coach in December.

ASU announced the hirings of offensive coordinator Keith Heckendorf, offensive line coach Sean Coughlin and outside wide receivers coach Malcolm Kelly on Jan. 9, the same time the school officially announced the firings of Faulkner, Rudolph and Buckner.

All three of ASU's new offensive assistants reported to the school Sunday. It is unclear when Duggan will report to ASU.

In December, Duggan was hired as co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach by University of Massachusetts Coach Walt Bell, who was a former offensive coordinator at ASU in 2014-15 and worked with Anderson and Duggan at Southern Miss from 2010-11.

It is unclear who the Red Wolves will appoint as special teams coordinator or running backs coach.

Sports on 01/16/2019

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