Arkansas linebackers coach Michael Scherer was officially announced as the new defensive coordinator at UNLV on Thursday. He will join former Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom, who is now the head coach for the Rebels.
Scherer posted a farewell to Razorback fans via Twitter on Wednesday evening.
After spending one season as a graduate assistant under Odom at Missouri in 2019, Scherer moved over to Arkansas with Odom in 2020. He spent the 2020 season as a defensive analyst and served as the linebackers coach for the past two seasons.
During Wednesday's 55-53 Liberty Bowl win over Kansas, Scherer served as the interim defensive coordinator for the Hogs, who allowed 603 total yards and 544 passing yards to Jayhawks quarterback Jalon Daniels.
Scherer coached Arkansas greats like Grant Morgan, Bumper Pool, Hayden Henry and Drew Sanders. All four of those players recorded seasons with 100 tackles under Scherer, and Sanders was an AP First-Team All-American this season for the Hogs after transferring in from Alabama.
On the recruiting trial, Scherer did very well for Arkansas. He gained three linebacker commitments in the 2023 class, three in the 2022 class (including Sanders), and three in the 2021 class, including Chris Paul Jr., who is primed to be a starter next season.
Odom also hired former Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino as his new offensive coordinator, but Petrino left to take the Texas A&M offensive coordinator position on Wednesday. Former Razorback wide receiver and special teams coordinator James Shibest was hired by Odom on Dec. 15.
Scherer is the third Arkansas coach to depart from the Hogs since the end of the season, joining Odom and former tight ends coach Dowell Loggains, who is now the offensive coordinator at South Carolina.
With Scherer's move to UNLV, Arkansas is not expected to hire a new linebackers coach, per sources.
New co-defensive coordinator from UCF, Travis Williams, who coached linebackers at Auburn, Miami and Northern Iowa, is expected to coach the same position with the Hogs. Williams also played linebacker for Auburn.
The Hogs also hired Marcus Woodson on Wednesday to be the co-DC alongside Williams. Woodson is expected to coach defensive backs, which is what he did at Florida State for the past three seasons.
