MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota hired former Rutgers linebackers coach Corey Hetherman as defensive coordinator and former Syracuse special teams coordinator Bob Ligashesky, filling two high-profile vacancies on coach P.J. Fleck's staff.
The Gophers made the announcement on Monday. Hetherman will also serve as linebackers coach, after two seasons in that role at Rutgers. He was the defensive coordinator at James Madison from 2019 until 2021, when he won the American Football Coaches Association's FCS Assistant Coach of the Year award.
Hetherman was also previously the defensive coordinator for three seasons at Maine. He replaces Joe Rossi, who departed after five-plus seasons at Minnesota for the same job with Michigan State.
Ligashesky replaces Rob Wenger, who had been with the Gophers since Fleck arrived in 2017.
Ligashesky spent the past two years at Syracuse, after stops at six other FBS programs including five seasons as special teams coordinator at Illinois (2016 to 2020). He coached 12 years for seven teams in the NFL, including more than eight as a special teams coordinator. Ligashesky and Fleck were assistants together with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012.
Watch more coverage of Minnesota sports:
Watch the latest reports from the KARE 11 sports team in our YouTube playlist:
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
- Add KARE 11+ on Roku here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Roku Channel Store.
- Add KARE 11+ on Fire TV here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Amazon App Store.
- Learn more about the KARE 11+ app for Apple TV in the Apple App Store.
- Learn more about KARE 11+ here.
