Kuligowski expected to join staff at Alabama

Alabama is expected to hire a defensive line coach who is no stranger to producing top-flight Southeastern Conference talent.

Craig Kuligowski, who spent the past two seasons as Mark Richt’s defensive line coach at Miami, reportedly is heading to Tuscaloosa to replace Karl Dunbar on Nick Saban’s staff. Dunbar left early this month after two seasons with the Crimson Tide for an opportunity to become defensive line coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Sports Illustrated was the first to report Kuligowski’s departure to Alabama, but the school has yet to confirm the move.

Kuligowski helped the Hurricanes reach the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game and the Orange Bowl this past season with a defense that led the nation in sacks, ranked third in tackles for loss and placed fifth in turnover margin.

Before his stint in Miami, Kuligowski spent the previous 15 seasons as defensive line coach at Missouri, which made him the longest-tenured position coach at the same program in the SEC. He guided 24 players to all-conference honors and helped produce four first-round draft picks — Ziggy Hood, Sheldon Richardson, Shane Ray and Charles Harris — in his final seven seasons.

Missouri won backto-back SEC East titles in 2013-14, with Kuligowski’s defensive line responsible for 39 of the team’s 41 sacks in 2013, when Michael Sam was the league’s top defensive player. The 2014 Tigers led the league with a school-record 44 sacks, and Shane Ray was SEC defensive player of the year.