The Jets have hired Karl Dunbar as their defensive line coach. Dunbar, 58, will be making a return to the Green & White after serving in the same capacity from 2012-14.
Dunbar, who was the DL coach the past eight seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers, has 19 years of NFL defensive line coaching experience. He spent one season with the Chicago Bears in 2004 before later moving to the Vikings from 2006-11. In addition to coaching with the Jets under Rex Ryan, Dunbar held the same position on Ryan's Buffalo Bills staff in 2015.
During Dunbar's time in Pittsburgh, the Steelers led the NFL with 392 sacks. And in his first stint with the Jets, Dunbar mentored both DT Sheldon Richardson, who was the AP's Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2013 and recorded 8 sacks in 2014, and Muhammad Wilkerson, who had a 10.5-sack campaign in 2013.
A three-year starter at LSU (1986-89) and a second-team All-SEC defensive tackle as a senior, Dunbar was an eighth-round pick (No. 209 overall) in the 1990 NFL Draft by the Steelers. After a stint with the Orlando Thunder in the World League of American Football in 1992, he played three seasons in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints (1993) and the Arizona Cardinals (1994-95) and registered 27 tackles in 21 games. He also was a member of the Rhein Fire in 1995.
The Opelousas, LA native started coaching at the high school level in Louisiana in 1996-97 before shifting to the college ranks as DL coach at Nicholls State (1998-99), strength and conditioning coach at LSU (2000-01) and DL coach at Oklahoma State (2002-03). He also held the defensive line coach title at LSU (2005) and Alabama (2016-17) under former Crimson Tide HC Nick Saban.
