Northern Illinois LB coach Kevin Kane expected to take same role at Kansas

Northern Illinois linebackers coach Kevin Kane is expected to accept the same position at Kansas, according to a source.

Northern Illinois linebackers coach Kevin Kane is expected to accept the same position at Kansas, according to a source.

It would be a return to Kane's alma mater. The 31-year-old was a standout linebacker for the Jayhawks from 2002-05.

Kane would take over coaching linebackers from Clint Bowen, who served as the Jayhawks' interim head coach after Charlie Weis was fired on Sept. 28. Bowen agreed to remain as defensive coordinator under new head coach David Beaty and added the title of assistant head coach.

Kane was a two-time honorable mention All-Big 12 linebacker fat Kansas under the tutelage of then-linebackers coach Dave Doeren. Doeren was Northern Ilinois' head coach for two seasons before he left for the same position at North Carolina State in 2013. He hired Kane onto his initial Huskies staff in '11.

In his final season at Kansas in 2005, Kane made 79 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions. After his playing career, he transitioned into coaching at Kansas as a graduate assistant for two years before joining up with Doeren again in 2008 at Wisconsin, where Doeren was the defensive coordinator. Kane spent his first two years with the Badgers as a graduate assistant and then worked as a quality control assistant with Wisconsin's defense in '10.

Kane coached All-Mid-American Conference selections Boomer Mays and Rasheen Lemon this season as part of a Huskies defense that ranked third in the MAC in points allowed. Northern Illinois went 11-2 and won the MAC championship for the third time in four years. The Huskies will play Marshall on Tuesday in the Boca Raton Bowl.

At Kansas, Kane would join a defensive staff that has room for improvement after the Jayhawks allowed 6.1 yards per play this season, 105th in the FBS. Kansas went 3-9 this year with just one Big 12 win.

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