Illinois has reportedly landed on former NFL assistant Charlie Bullen as the school’s next outside linebackers coach and pass rush coordinator.

Bullen, who has spent the last 3 seasons as the Arizona Cardinals’ outside linebackers coach, will be taking over for Kevin Kane, who took the defensive coordinator job at Purdue with former Illinois DC Ryan Walters.

Head coach Bret Bielema released the following statement on the hiring, via Jeremy Werner of 247Sports.

“I couldn’t be more excited to welcome Charlie Bullen and his family to Illinois. Charlie has a wealth of NFL coaching experience, including coaching some of the elite pass rushers of the NFL, plus a background in the Big Ten. I look forward to watching Charlie continue to develop our outside linebackers and pass rush, while growing our defense in 2023.”

Bullen played college football at Iowa and was a graduate assistant with the Hawkeyes from 2007-2011. He moved on to the NFL with the Miami Dolphins before landing in Phoenix with the Cardinals.