Source Confirms: Kevin Peoples to be IU’s New Defensive Line Coach

Kevin Peoples will lead the Hoosiers defensive line Image: TulaneGreenwave.com

Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

Sources have confirmed that the Indiana Hoosiers have hired Kevin Peoples to fill their vacated defensive line coach position after Ron Burton changed his mind and will instead be returning to the Michigan State staff after agreeing to come to Indiana in the same role earlier this week.

Peoples just completed his fourth season as Tulane’s defensive line coach. The Butte, Montana native has been coaching since 1993 after playing at Carroll College from 1989-1992.

Peoples’ coaching career started in 1993 at his alma mater, Carroll College, before moving on to Blinn Community College in 1995 he met Willie Fritz and won a NJCAA National championship. After just one year a Blinn, People spent a season at Northwestern State as the defensive ends coach. From 1997 to 1998, he coached the defensive line for Central Missouri, another Fritz lead team, and spent the 1999 season with North Arizona coaching special teams and defensive line.

Peoples made the leap to professional football in the 2000 season when he coached in the old XFL for the Las Vegas Outlaws. After that league folded, Peoples returned to Northwestern State before heading to Arkansas State for the next nine seasons (2002-2010). After a successful stint at Arkansas State, Peoples moved on to Arkansas as the Director of High School relations in 2010 before coaching the defensive line there in 2011-12. The Razorbacks went to the Sugar Bowl in 2010 and the Cotton Bowl in 2011. The 2012 Razorback defensive line was top-25 in sacks in the country.

After a brief stint at UAB, Peoples was reunited with Willie Fritz at Georgia Southern in 2014 and helped lead them to a 2015 GoDaddy Bowl berth. He then followed Fritz to Tulane in 2016.

At Tulane, Peoples helped the defensive line become a strength as the Green Wave led the AAC in red zone defense in 2017. In 2018, they were ranked 24th nationally in red zone defense when they surrendered touchdowns just 51-percent of the time. Tulane also led the AAC in sacks in 2018 with 41 in 13 games.

Peoples comes to IU tasked with improving the Indiana pass rush. The Hoosiers have been in search of a defensive line coach since early February when Mark Hagen took the same position at Texas.