Reports: Texas expected to hire Indiana co-DC/DL coach Mark Hagen

The Texas Longhorns appear poised to finally land the last addition to head coach Tom Herman’s rebuilt coaching staff, as multiple reports emerged on Wednesday morning that Indiana Hoosiers co-defensive coordinator Mark Hagen is the target.

According to Anwar Richardson of Orangebloods, Hagen is “a guy to keep on eye on,” while Chip Brown of Horns247 went a step further, with his sources indicating that Hagen will join the staff.

Hagen is an Indiana alum who played linebacker fort he Hoosiers, so he also has experience coaching linebackers, as well as coordinating special teams. With the experience of Oscar Giles coaching defensive ends for Texas, the expectation is that Hagen will coach the defensive tackles for the Longhorns.

Known as a good recruiter — Rivals recognized him twice for his efforts on the trail — the most important stop by Hagen in regards to his fit at Texas was his time under Kevin Sumlin at Texas A&M from 2013-15, a stretch that included Hagen serving as the defensive coordinator for the Liberty Bowl win over West Virginia in 2014. Having some ties to recruiting in the state should help Hagen as he starts to target players in the 2021 class and beyond.

Hagen is in his second stint at Indiana and has also served on the staffs at Purdue under Joe Tiller and at Northern Illinois. Under Hagen, the Hoosiers produced some disruptive defensive lines in 2016 and 2017 and he’s coached 25 players who went on to the NFL, but his track record developing players isn’t as strong as that of Giles. Of course, the talent level he’s usually been coaching is probably a factor there, too.