One of the biggest hires Joker Phillips made during his short tenure as head coach at Kentucky was tabbing Indiana State linebackers coach Rick Minter as his defensive coordinator. The defensive coach has been everywhere.
The former head coach at Cincinnati had SEC experience from a year spent at South Carolina in 2004 and was hoping to help turn things in the right direction for Phillips. After a top-50 defensive finish in SP+ in 2011, things began to fall apart in 2012, and athletic director Mitch Barnhart decided to make a change.
Since then, Rick Minter has coached in the NFL, Sun Belt, Conference USA, Division II, and Alliance of American Football.