UCLA Announces Bill McGovern as Defensive Coordinator, Jerry Azzinaro Ignored
The Bruins have made their most anticipated move of the offseason official.
UCLA football has hired Bill McGovern as its next defensive coordinator, the program announced in a press release Thursday afternoon. The move comes a day after 247Sports' Bruin Report Online, Last Word on College Football and several other outlets reported that the team was set to hire him for the role.
One thing missing from the release, however, was any update or closure to the tenure of defensive coordinator Jerry Azzinaro, who has held the position since the 2018 season. Azzinaro's contract was set to expire on Feb. 28, but it was widely reported in January that he had resigned.
A UCLA Athletics spokesperson told All Bruins that Azzinaro was no longer part of the coaching staff, but would not provide further details on timing or the decision-making process. The end of February marks four years in Westwood for Azzinaro, which would qualify him for tenure from the university, meaning the delay in any official move on his part could be tied to the financial reproductions on the administrative side of things.
Regardless, Azzinaro will not be returning as the Bruins' defensive coordinator in 2022, as the role has officially been passed over to McGovern.
McGovern is coming off a one-year stint as inside linebackers coach for the Chicago Bears, and he was a defensive assistant for Nebraska in 2020 and inside linebackers coach for the New York Giants in 2019 before that. The Giants had McGovern has their linebackers coach from 2016 to 2018.
Prior to his time in New York, McGovern overlapped with coach Chip Kelly at the Philadelphia Eagles, where he was Kelly's outside linebackers coach from 2013 to 2015. Azzinaro was also on the staff in Philadelphia as defensive line coach and assistant head coach.
That wasn't the first time Azzinaro and McGovern worked together, however. The two held different roles at Boston College for a few years in the mid-1990s, with McGovern standing in as defensive backs coach and Azzinaro as defensive line coach. McGovern was also defensive coordinator at UMass in 1993, employing Azzinaro as his defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator before leaving for Chestnut Hill and passing the torch to Azzinaro in Amherst.
Following his time spent alongside Azzinaro, McGovern was Pittsburgh's defensive backs coach for a few years before going back to Boston College for what turned out to be a 13-year stint. McGovern was linebackers coach for the Eagles from 2000 to 2008, then he added on the defensive coordinator title from 2009 to 2012.
McGovern helped develop All-American linebackers Mark Herzlich and Luke Kuechly while at Boston College. Kelly poached him from that role to add to his staff in Philadelphia in 2013, and McGovern has had one season in the college game ever since.
The four years at Boston College mark McGovern's only seasons as a Power Five defensive coordinator, and the Eagles ranked No. 19, No. 19 and No. 43 in the country in scoring defense across those first three campaigns. In his last season at Boston College, McGovern's defense ranked No. 76 and his team went 2-10.
Azzinaro had four years in charge of UCLA's defense, and the Bruins ranked No. 104, No. 117, No. 73 and No. 73 in those seasons.
According to Bruin Report Online, McGovern will be signing a two-year contract worth $900,000 total, or $450,000 annually. Azzinaro was making $750,000 per season. No contract details – length or salary – were announced by UCLA.
McGovern, who is 61 years old, will be entering his 38th year of coaching since graduating from Holy Cross in 1985. As a player, he was a Division I-AA All-American as a defensive back.
There are still several dominos left to fall in terms of UCLA's staff, as the Bruins are currently without an offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator. While there are no vacancies in any of the positional coaching roles, the two-year contracts signed in 2020 by running backs coach DeShaun Foster, defensive backs coach Brian Norwood and inside linebackers coach Don Pellum are set to expire at the end of the month.
Those three have still been active on the recruiting trail this offseason, and it is likely they are in the final stages of agreeing to extensions.
Joining Pellum and Norwood on McGovern's defensive staff are outside linebackers coach Ikaika Malloe and defensive line coach Chad Kauha'aha'a from Washington and UNLV, respectively.
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