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Buffalo D-line coach Chris Cosh to become North Texas DC

Buffalo defensive line coach Chris Cosh will be North Texas’ new defensive coordinator.

Cosh, 55, replaces John Skladany, who retired last month after three seasons with the Mean Green. North Texas announced Cosh’s hiring Wednesday afternoon, confirming an earlier report from SI.com.

Skladany’s unit ranked 42nd in the FBS in total defense (369.4 yards per game) but was 86th nationally in scoring defense (29.8 points per game).

After posting a 9-4 record and winning the Heart of Dallas Bowl last season, fourth-year Mean Green coach Dan McCarney went 4-8 this year in a rebuilding campaign.

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North Texas will be the veteran Cosh’s 14th different stop since he started as a Virginia Tech graduate assistant in 1983. He’s been a defensive coordinator in all but one of the Power Five conferences (Pac-12).

Cosh’s defensive coordinator stints have included Illinois (1996), Michigan State (1998), South Carolina (2003), Maryland (2006-08), Kansas State (2010-12) and South Florida (2012).

Under Cosh, Buffalo ranked 53rd in the FBS in sacks per game this season (2.27 per game). The Bulls were 13th nationally the previous year (2.92 sacks per game) thanks in large part to Oakland Raiders star rookie outside linebacker Khalil Mack. Buffalo went 8-5 last season and made just its second bowl appearance in program history.

New Buffalo coach Lance Leipold, who was hired late last month to replace former Bulls coach Jeff Quinn, had retained Cosh as part of his new staff.

Cosh played linebacker at Virginia Tech from 1977-81. His lone season as Michigan State’s defensive coordinator was under then-Spartans coach Nick Saban, and his tenure at Illinois included coaching star linebackers Kevin Hardy, Dana Howard and Simeon Rice.

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