Tem Lukabu Reportedly Considered as Notre Dame DC Candidate
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)
Publisher
Boston College already lost one of its coordinators this offseason when Pittsburgh hired away OC Frank Cignetti Jr. The Eagles could lose another. Maybe.
Defensive coordinator Tem Lukabu is listed as a candidate for the Notre Dame DC job by both The Athletic and InsideNDSports of the Rivals.com Network.
And Bryan Driskell of Sports Illustrated’s Irish Breakdown reported that Lukabu is one of four finalists for the position, along with Cincinnati Bengals linebackers coach Al Golden (former Miami head coach from 2011-15), Houston DC Doug Belk and Minnesota DC Joe Rossi.
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman is looking to fill the vacancy after he was promoted to replace Brian Kelly at the end of this past season.
This is what Notre Dame beat writer Pete Sampson of The Athletic wrote last week: “With just two seasons of defensive coordinator experience working for a defensive-minded head coach, Lukabu may be more of a longshot than other names on this list. But the linebackers coach by trade is well-regarded in college coaching circles and may be in line for an elevation in the coming seasons.”
Lukabu, 40, has helped BC head coach Jeff Hafley transform the Eagles’ defense into one of the more respectable units in the ACC. This season, BC ranked 31st in the FBS in scoring defense (22.2 points allowed per game), third in passing defense (173.5 passing yards allowed per game) and 27th in opponent third down conversion rate (34.69%).
And that was despite missing starting quarterback Phil Jurkovec for six games, an absence that forced the Eagles’ defense to carry more than just its own weight.
Lukabu starred for Colgate as a player in the early 2000s, winning Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year in 2002 and 2003. Since, he’s worked his way around the coaching sphere, even spending a few years with NFL teams (2012-13 as a defensive assistant with the Tampa Buccaneers, 2016-17 as a defensive quality control coach for the San Francisco 49ers and 2019 as the Cincinnati Bengals’ linebackers coach).
Lukabu’s current gig with BC is his first go-around as a defensive coordinator.
Before Cignetti’s departure this offseason, Hafley’s original staff from when he was hired ahead of the 2020 season remained intact.
