Gopher FB Coach You’ve Never Heard of Hired and Promoted by B1G Rival

The Minnesota Gophers are getting ready for their Rate Bowl matchup one week from today, on December 26, against the New Mexico Lobos, a sneaky tough matchup that should put PJ Fleck’s 6-0 bowl game record as Gopher football coach to the test.

Two offseasons ago, around this time, the MN Gophers lost highly-touted defensive coordinator Joe Rossi to Michigan State, for the same position. Then last year, same thing. Minnesota’s new DC, Corey Hetherman, was hired away by the Miami Hurricanes.

And now, on Friday morning — just days before the team is due to land in Phoenix — Minnesota has lost yet another defensive coach to a different division one football team. And for the second time in three offseason, this coaching burglary comes from within the Big Ten.

Purdue snipes Gopher Football coach to be new/old defensive coordinator

The difference this time around, is that you’ve probably never heard of Gopher defensive assistant (Nickel & OLB coach) Kevin Kane, who is reportedly being hired as the Purdue Boilermakers’ next defensive coordinator, according to Matt Zenitz (CBS Sports).

Kevin Kane was hired as Minnesota Gophers Nickel and OLB coach in January 2025, after he was fired from his job as… Purdue defensive coordinator. Now, less than one year later, Kane is heading back to Purdue to take the same position he was just fired from.

Purdue is expected to hire Minnesota’s Kevin Kane as its new defensive coordinator, sources tell @CBSSports.

Before Minnesota, Kane was a defensive coordinator at Purdue, SMU and Northern Illinois. Was also an associate head coach and outside linebackers coach at Illinois. pic.twitter.com/4UXp1eSsRr

— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) December 19, 2025

Related: Former Gopher FB Player Turned Coach Returning to Big Ten?

When Kevin Kane was fired by the Boilers last offseason, Purdue hired Mike Sherer as their DC. After one year in that role, Sherer was fired. But instead of trying to go for their third defensive coordinator in as many seasons, Purdue is bringing the now 42-year-old Kane.

Kane was the Boilermakers’ DC from 2023 to 2024. Before that, he was a LB coach at Illinois from 2021-22, DC at SMU from 2018-2020 amd DC at Northern Illinois from 2016-17.

What today’s conference coaching shuffle tells us, more than likely, is that Purdue’s players probably never wanted Kane gone in the first place. Either that, or shortly after Sherer came in, they knew Kane’s firing was a mistake.

How does Kevin Kane’s departure affect MN Gophers defense?

Purdue’s in-conference thievery won’t bother Gopher fans too much, since casual fans probably had no idea he was on staff, until this news broke. As for head coach PJ Fleck’s feelings… well, it’s not like Kevin Kane made an immediate positive impact on the team stat sheet.

In 2025, under new defensive coordinator Danny Collins, the Gopher defense took a noticeable stepback. Instead of the dominant, perennial top 25 unit we got used to under Rossi and Hetherman, Minnesota’s defense this season was relegated to just another Big Ten defense.

Collins’ first-year defense ranked 13th in the Big Ten (58th nationally) in points allowed, at 23.4 PPG. They ranked 11th in total yards allowed (342.3 YPG), good for 41st nationally.

They looked pretty good sometimes, against less-explosive offenses. Other times, they couldn’t stop a nosebleed. And when they went against top-ranked offenses, like Ohio State and Oregon, the 2025 maroon and gold defense never gave their offensive teammates a chance.