Rick Minter
	Position: Co-Defensive Coordinator

One of the most respected defensive minds in football, Rick Minter has joined the Kentucky football staff as co-defensive coordinator.

In his first season with the Wildcats, Minter is adding multiple defensive schemes to the 4-3 formation used primarily in recent years.

Minter came to UK from Indiana State, where he spent one season as the linebackers coach. The Sycamores, who had a 2-54 record the five previous years before his arrival, improved to a 6-5 mark in 2010, as the ISU defensive unit ranked second in the conference in total takeaways.

Minter spent the 2008-09 seasons as the defensive coordinator at Marshall. The Thundering Herd defense doubled its turnover rate in Minter's first season, taking the ball away 14 times after gathering only seven turnovers the year before. He was the interim head coach for his last game at Marshall, guiding the team to a 21-17 win over Ohio in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.

Minter spent the 2005-06 seasons as the defensive coordinator for Notre Dame, a position he also held during the 1992-93 seasons. During his four years as defensive coordinator at Notre Dame, Minter helped lead the Irish to a 40-8-1 record with four prestigious bowl games, including two Cotton Bowl berths in the `92-93 seasons and appearances in the Fiesta and Sugar Bowls during his latter term.

Minter made major improvements in the South Carolina defense in 2004 under legendary head coach Lou Holtz. The Gamecocks ranked 20th nationally in total defense and 15th nationally in pass defense. Freshman free safety Ko Simpson earned second-team All-America honors and ranked third nationally in interceptions.

As head coach at Cincinnati from 1994-2003, Minter won more games than any coach in UC history. He led the Bearcats to four postseason bowl games and was cochampion of Conference USA in 2002. His 1997 team finished 8-4 after a Humanitarian Bowl victory over Utah State, marking the first bowl appearance for Cincinnati in 47 seasons. Minter's Bearcats went to three straight bowls in 2000-02. He was named C-USA Coach of the Year in 2001 by CollegeFootballNews.com.

It was at Cincinnati that Minter and Phillips became well-acquainted. In 1997, Phillips coached wide receivers and in 1998 he coached defensive backs for Minter. Minter had several notable coaches on his Bearcat staff, including Phillips; current New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan, who served as Cincinnati defensive coordinator; current Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, who was UC's special-teams coach; current Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, who was a defensive backs coach at UC; and Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher, who was an offensive coordinator at UC.

During his first stint at Notre Dame, working under Holtz, the 1993 Irish defense helped the team to an 11-1 season and runner-up finish in the national championship race. Three of Minter's defenders earned first-team All-America honors. The `92 Irish posted a 10-1-1 mark, won the Cotton Bowl and were ranked fourth in the final polls. Cornerback Tom Carter won All-America honors. During his first two seasons at Notre Dame, Minter coached 21 defensive players who went on to play in the NFL.

Prior to joining the Notre Dame staff, Minter served as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at Ball State for seven seasons, annually developing units that were ranked among the national leaders. Ball State combined for a
28-15-2 mark over his final four seasons from 1988-91, including a Mid-American Conference title and California Raisin Bowl appearance in 1989. During Minter's seven seasons, Ball State produced nine All-MAC players on defense,
including three-time MAC Defensive Player of the Year (1987-89) Gary Garnica.

Minter also has collegiate coaching experience at New Mexico State, North Carolina State, Louisiana Tech and Arkansas, where he was a graduate assistant under Holtz in 1978.

Born in Nash, Texas, Minter is a graduate of Texas High School in Texarkana, Texas. He was a three-year starter at defensive end at Henderson State, where he earned both his bachelor's (1977) and master's degrees (1978) in education. Minter is the father of two sons, Josh and Jesse.

Coaching Experience