Muscles to Miami: Canes hire Oregon strength coach. Here are others who will be named soon

The new University of Miami football coaching staff is taking shape for 2022, as several incoming coaches, many of them from Mario Cristobal’s former staff at Oregon, are expected to be announced soon.

One of them, Aaron Feld, was named strength and conditioning coordinator late Monday afternoon.

Bryan McClendon will be named receivers coach and Joe Salave’a will be named defensive line coach, while Jim Mastro, who UM had expected to join the staff as its running backs coach, will not be coming, according to The Athletic’s @BruceFeldmanCFB. All four were with Cristobal at Oregon, as well as new offensive line coach Alex Mirabal, who changed his Twitter handle on Sunday to reflect his new job. Feldman said through a source that Mastro is “not taking any on-field coaching job this year. He needs to remain on the West Coast because of family health issues.’’

Aaron Feld

Feld, the high-energy, handlebar-mustachioed Oregon strength and conditioning coach, came to the Ducks in 2018 from the University of Georgia, where he spent three years as the assistant director of strength and conditioning. Feld worked with Cristobal at Alabama, where he was a volunteer strength coach in 2013-14.

Feld replaces popular UM strength and conditioning coach David Feeley.

“Aaron is more than just a difference maker as a strength and conditioning coach,” Cristobal said Monday in a UM release. “He is a game-changer in terms of fostering team culture, instilling discipline and building the DNA of a championship football program.”

Said Feld in the release: “The truth is, there’s very few schools and very few opportunities that you leave a place like the one where I’ve been the last four years. You don’t move across the country for just any school or just any coach. That’s the biggest thing. If The U wasn’t what The U is, and if Coach Cristobal isn’t who he is, this wouldn’t be happening.

“I know it’s a place where we can build a perennial contender. You go from good to great, great to elite, and elite to unbreakable — that’s the culture we’ve developed over the last four years.”

Feld started his college career as the assistant strength coach for football and head strength coach for women’s basketball at UAB in 2012-13, before he moved on to Alabama. After Alabama, he got his first head strength coach position for all sports at North Alabama from 2014-15.

Feld, a former long snapper at his alma mater Mississippi State, announced Sunday on Twitter that he was leaving the Oregon program.

“It was a helluva ride ladies and gentlemen!’’ Feld wrote. “It has been the honor of a lifetime to lead the young @oregonfootball. Thank you Duck Nation for embracing me and my wife and making us feel at home in the PNW. We will miss you all!”

Bryan McClendon

McClendon will replace Rob Likens, who also followed Lashlee to SMU. McClendon’s last game was as the interim bowl coach Dec. 29 against Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl. Oklahoma defeated Oregon 47-32 for a 10-4 final Ducks record in 2021.

Oregon’s passing offense ranked 76 of 130 FBS teams this season (221.3 yards a game). Devon Williams was the Ducks’ top receiver statistically, ranking 175th in the FBS in receiving yards per game (46.4).

But with soon-to-be third-year UM sophomore quarterback Tyler Van Dyke already being projected as one of the top returning signal callers for 2022, UM’s young talent at receiver should be a boost to McClendon. The Canes’ passing offense this past season was ranked 10th nationally, good for 321.2 yards a game.

Before his two-year stint at Oregon, McClendon served as South Carolina offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach in 2018 and 19 and as wideouts coach there in 2016 and 2017. He coached at his alma mater Georgia as a graduate assistant in 2007-08 and then as a running backs coach, recruiting coordinator, wide receivers/pass game coordinator and co-offensive coordinator through 2017. From 2009-15, the Bulldogs averaged 33.4 points per game, the second most in the SEC over the seven-year span. From 2011 to 14, the Bulldogs had four of the top six seasons in Georgia history in total offense and three of the top five seasons for total touchdowns.

Joe Salave’a

Soon-to-be named defensive line coach Salave’a spent the past five seasons at Oregon as the defensive line coach, as well as the co-defensive coordinator.

The Ducks were ranked 53rd of 130 FBS teams in rushing defense in 2021, allowing 144.1 ground yards a game. Oregon was tied with five other teams for 87th nationally in total sacks (23 for 1.64 a game) and tied with four other teams for 71st in total tackles for loss (70 for five a game).

Salave’a will replace UM line coach Jess Simpson, who was challenged with replacing NFL-bound defensive ends Jaelan Phillips and Quincy Roche.

In 2021, Miami was ranked 45th in rushing defense (139 yards allowed a game). The Canes were tied with three other teams for 2.75 sacks a game for 36th best in country and 40th in total sacks (33), tied with seven other teams.

Salave’a coached from 2012 to 16 at Washington State, in 2011 at Arizona and in 2008-09 at San Jose State.

Salave’a is a member of the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame and an eight-year NFL veteran who played five years with the Tennessee Titans, split 2002 with the Baltimore Ravens and San Diego Chargers and ended with three years with the then-Washington Redskins before retiring after the 2006 season. He was a standout defensive tackle in college with Arizona.

Miami Herald sportswriter Barry Jackson contributed to this report.

This story was originally published January 3, 2022 at 5:06 PM.

Susan Miller Degnan

Miami Herald

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Miami Herald sports writer Susan Miller Degnan has been the Miami Hurricanes football beat writer since 2000, the season before the Canes won it all. She has won several APSE national writing awards and has covered everything from Canes baseball to the College Football Playoff to major marathons to the Olympics.