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John Lovett enters his first season as North Carolina's special teams coordinator and defensive assistant. Lovett comes to Carolina with 18 years of experience as a defensive coordinator, including stops at Clemson, Auburn and Mississippi. Most recently, he was the defensive coordinator at Bowling Green from 2005-06. In addition to coordinating the defense at Bowling Green, Lovett coached linebackers in 2005 and defensive backs in 2006. In his first year at BGSU, Lovett's defense ranked 20th in the country in turnover margin. The defensive coordinator at Clemson from 2002-04, Lovett helped develop one of the ACC's top defenses and defensive backs Justin Miller and Brian Mance earned All-America honors. In 2004, Clemson was 11th in the nation in pass defense efficiency (103.4) and 26th in total defense (327.3). In 2003, his defense allowed just 19.2 points per game as Clemson finished the year with nine wins and a top 25 national ranking. Lovett was the defensive coordinator at Auburn from 1999-2001 and helped lead the Tigers to bowl games each of his last two years. In 2001, Auburn earned a berth in the Peach Bowl opposite North Carolina. Lovett coached the secondary all four years he was at Ole Miss (1995-98), including the 1997 season when the Rebels had an 8-4 overall record, including a victory in the Motor City Bowl. Prior to coming to Mississippi in 1995, Lovett worked as defensive coordinator at the University of Maine for two stints. He first went to Orono in 1985 and severed as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach from 1985-88. He also served as defensive coordinator for the Black Bears in 1994. The 1987 team won the conference championship and qualified for the Division I-AA playoffs. Lovett began his career in coaching at Saint Joseph's Region High School in Montvale, N.J., in 1976. He started his college career in 1978 at Union College in New York, where he worked until 1982. Lovett spent the 1983 season in the Ivy League at Brown, and then moved back to New York to work under Joe Walton as the New York Jets' defensive quality control coach in 1984. In 1989, he joined head coach Tim Murphy at the University of Cincinnati, where he remained until 1992. In 1993, he coached at UNLV as the secondary coach. Lovett graduated from C.W. Post College in December of 1973. He came to the school as a walk-on, but quickly earned a scholarship and served as the team's co-captain as a senior in 1973. He played for Dom Amile, who is now the Director of Football Operations for the Indianapolis Colts. At the completion of his career, he enrolled in graduate school at the University of Denver and he earned his Master's Degree in 1975. The next year he entered the coaching profession. The Lovett File |
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