Mississippi St hires USC's Sirmon as defensive coordinator

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) Mississippi State has hired former Southern California assistant Peter Sirmon to be its defensive coordinator. The 38-year-old Sirmon

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) Mississippi State has hired former Southern California assistant Peter Sirmon to be its defensive coordinator.

The 38-year-old Sirmon was at USC for two seasons and was the associate head coach, recruiting coordinator and linebackers coach. He replaces Manny Diaz, who left to be defensive coordinator at Miami.

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Sirmon was a linebacker for the Tennessee Titans for seven seasons from 2000-06. He played in college at Oregon.

Mississippi State also announced on Friday that it has hired Terrell Buckley to be its secondary coach and recruiting coordinator. The 43-year-old comes from Louisville, where he was the cornerbacks coach.

David Turner, who is in his seventh season with Mississippi State, has been named assistant head coach. He will continue to be the team's defensive line coach.