Oregon reportedly set to hire NFL assistant and former Alabama DC Tosh Lupoi
After three seasons at the pro level, Tosh Lupoi is reportedly set to return to college.
Lupoi, currently the Jacksonville Jaguars’ defensive line coach and a former assistant on Nick Saban’s Alabama staff where he first crossed paths with Dan Lanning, is said to be heading to Eugene to join Lanning’s new Oregon staff as the team’s defensive coordinator once the Jaguars’ season ends. On3’s Matt Zenitz reported the news Monday.
Tosh Lupoi, who is currently the Jacksonville Jaguars’ defensive line coach, is expected to be hired as Oregon’s defensive coordinator at the conclusion of the Jaguars’ season, sources tell @on3sports.
Worked with Dan Lanning at Alabama in 2015.https://t.co/P5cgphUPHE
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) December 27, 2021
Lupoi, 40, spent five seasons in Tuscaloosa before heading to the NFL. He was a defensive line coach for the Cleveland Browns (2019), Atlanta Falcons (2020), and now the Jaguars. Before that, he was on staff with the Tide in 2015 when Lanning was a grad assistant. In 2016, Lupoi moved on to coach outside linebackers for the Crimson Tide before being promoted in 2017 to co-defensive coordinator. Lupoi helped the Tide to a national championship in 2017, and after defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt left for Tennessee, Lupoi became the full-time defensive coordinator in 2018.
The California native also had stops in the Pac-12 before joining the Alabama staff. He was a defensive line coach at Cal from 2008 to 2011, and then the run game coordinator and d-line coach at Washington in 2012 and 2013, though he left Seattle amid some controversy.
His recruiting prowess is well-documented. Lupoi was the primary recruiter for 19 top-150 recruits, according to 247 Sports, including Tua Tagavailoa, Najee Harris, Keenan Allen, and Shaq Thompson.