Melvin added by Turner to football coaching staff

 Randy Melvin

Head Coach Ron Turner had only a single season with defensive line coach Andre Patterson before he made the move back to the NFL. Patterson was brought in by new Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer to lead his defensive line.

That left a vacancy open for the same position at FIU. In came Randy Melvin.

Melvin, who has many years of experience, will return for the second time to college level football.

He is in the Eastern Illinois University hall of fame after playing defensive line from 1978 to 1981.

Directly after that is when his coaching career began. He started off coaching at the high school level and even spent five seasons at his alma mater, Aurora West High School (Aurora, Ill.) from 1983 to 1987. That includes being the head coach from 1985 to 1987.

Following his stint at the high school level he was brought back by his collegiate alma mater to lead the FIU Panthers defensive line. He was a member of the Panthers staff for seven seasons.

After that he made stops at the University of Wyoming and Purdue University before getting his first job in the NFL.

Melvin participated in the NFL’s Minority Coaching Fellowship program from 1995 to 1997 while he was still at the collegiate level working with organizations like the Denver Broncos and the New York Jets.

While with the Jets, he was introduced to coach Bill Belichick. When Belichick was named the head coach of the New England Patriots in 2000, he brought Melvin is to coach the defensive line. Melvin was a member of the staff for two seasons, which includes the 2001 Super Bowl winning team for the Patriots. The 2002 season brought him back for a small stint to the college level being the defensive line coach at Rutgers University until 2004.

2005 brought Melvin back to the NFL when his defensive coordinator with the Jets, Romeo Crennel, was named the Head Coach of the Cleveland Browns. His time with the Browns lasted until a 4-12 season in 2008 when the general manager and Crennel were fired. This led to his second return to the collegiate coaching level when he took a position with Temple University for a single season and helped them back to a bowl game. Something the Owls had not experienced since Melvin himself was a collegiate athlete in 1979. After that successful season he rejoined the Scarlet Knights coaching staff at Rutgers University where he was also only present for a single season.

Melvin then spent a season in the Canadian Football League as the defensive coach for the BC Lions. That led to his return to the NFL under Schiano, who had been the head coach during his second stay at Rutgers for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He remained there until Schiano was let go following this past 2013 campaign.

In a press release Turner spoke on bringing in a former colleague.

“Randy Melvin brings a great deal of experience and expertise to our coaching staff,” Turner said. “He will be a huge asset with defensive schemes and our weekly game plan. He’s someone that I had the privilege to work with at Tampa Bay and is an excellent teacher with a tremendous work ethic. He’s a man of great integrity and will be a role model for our student-athletes.”

Melvin comes in to a Panthers team that ranked No. 113 in the nation for points against in the 2013 season with an average of 37. This includes scores of 72-0 against the University of Louisville, 48-0 by Middle Tennessee State University, and 38-0 against the University of Central Florida.

The new coach will also not have the two statistically best defensive lineman from the 2013 season due to graduation. Isame Faciane and Greg Hickman were the top two defensive lineman on the team and combined for 97 tackles, 6.4 sacks for 33 yards lost, three quarterback hurries and two pass breakups.

Melvin will have four new recruits to work with in incoming freshmen John Broome, Jordan Ingraham, Anthony Johnson, and Justin Sibole.

He will also have converted linebacker Josh Glanton, who announced the move via twitter.

“Made that move, playing wit my hand in da dirt nie ! #Trenches,” Glanton said on twitter.

Spring practice will begin in the middle of March and the annual Blue vs. Gold Spring game will be on April 12.


-rhys.williams@fiusm.com

About the Author

Rhys Williams
: Sports Director, Class of 2016, Physical Education: Coaching (Major), Communication Arts (Minor), Sports Enthusiast with a Focus on Football and Track & Field.

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