As expected, the Arizona Wildcats on Wednesday promoted Vincent Amey to the role of defensive line coach, completing the 2016 coaching staff.
Amey, who played defensive tackle for Arizona State and professionally in three leagues, served as a football analyst for the UA last year. He had been a strength-and-conditioning coach the previous three seasons.
โI am thrilled to hire Vince to an on-field coaching position,โ Wildcats coach Rich Rodriguez said in a news release. โHe has strong relationships with our current players, is extremely knowledgeable about the defensive line position and will be another valuable asset for us in recruiting.โ
Amey was a four-year letter winner at ASU, playing for conference championship teams in 1996 and โ97 and starting in the โ97 Rose Bowl.
A seventh-round draft pick by the Oakland Raiders in 1998, Amey played in four NFL games, including one start. He also played in NFL Europe and the Arena Football League.
Amey served as the defensive line coach at Chaparral High School in Scottsdale in 2011, when the Firebirds won the Division II state championship.
Amey is the fourth defensive coach Rodriguez has hired this offseason. He started by promoting Jahmile Addae from analyst to safeties coach. Rodriguez later hired Dontรฉ Williams to coach cornerbacks and Marcel Yates as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.
Here's a video interview with Amey courtesy of UA Athletics:
