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John Carroll hires former Nevada football coach Brian Polian as new athletic director

Polian, a JCU alum, was most recently special teams coordinator under Brian Kelly at both Notre Dame and LSU. His father Bill was also a Hall of Fame NFL executive.

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio — Following a roughly two-month search, John Carroll has its new athletic director, officially naming longtime college football coach Brian Polian to the position on Tuesday.

Polian, who graduated from JCU in 1997, will replace Michelle Morgan after she left to become commissioner of both the Atlantic Hockey Association and College Hockey America. He will be the school's 12th full-time AD and will begin his duties on May 22.

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"In 25 years of coaching, I have moved all over the country. There are only a handful of places that have felt like home. John Carroll University and Northeast Ohio has always been one of those places," Polian said in a statement. "I am very grateful to President [Dr. Alan R.] Miciak for the opportunity to bring our family back to a community that we care for so deeply. It is truly a blessing, and we are incredibly excited to take on this new challenge."

The son of Hall of Fame NFL executive Bill Polian, Brian played linebacker for the Blue Streaks from 1993-96, earning second-team All-Ohio Athletic Conference honors as a senior while playing alongside College Football Hall of Famer London Fletcher. He immediately thereafter found his was into coaching, working his way through Michigan State, Buffalo, Baylor, and UCF before eventually landing the job of Notre Dame's special team's coordinator under then head coach Charlie Weis.

Following stints at Stanford and Texas A&M, Polian was named Nevada's head coach in 2013, succeeding the legendary Chris Ault. He led the Wolf Pack to a bowl win and high academic ratings while coaching some of the program's best players (such as current Browns offensive guard Joel Bitonio), but the two sides eventually parted ways following a disappointing 23-27 record across four seasons. He has not been hired to another head coaching job since.

Polian eventually regained his old special teams coordinator job at Notre Dame, this time under new coach Brian Kelly. The Fighting Irish made the College Football Playoff twice during his second five-year tenure before he followed Kelly to LSU in the same position. The Tigers finished an impressive 10-4 in 2022, but with their special teams unit ranked as one of the worst in the country, Polian was moved into an off-field role within the program.

"Brian Polian has been a key figure in the success of our programs at Notre Dame and LSU as a coach, recruiter, and administrator," Kelly wrote of his former assistant. "I have no doubt that he will use his knowledge, experience, and passion for people to make John Carroll University and Blue Streak athletics better in the future. We would like to wish Brian, Laura, and the family all the best as they embark on this new endeavor."

Taking over one of the top athletic departments in the OAC, the 48-year-old Polian comes to John Carroll during a time of relative transition, with his former teammate Jeff Behrman taking over as head football coach and the Blue Streaks also set to launch a women's wrestling program this fall.

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