Kevin Kane, in his second season at Purdue, was named the defensive coordinator in December of 2022. He joined head coach Ryan Walters after the duo put together one of the fiercest defenses in the nation over two seasons at Illinois. Kane also coaches Purdue’s inside linebackers.
Following an All-Big 12 Conference career as a linebacker at Kansas (2002-05), Kane has spent almost two decades on the sidelines building some of the most formidable defenses in the nation at Wisconsin, Northern Illinois, Kansas, SMU and Illinois.
In his first season in West Lafayette, the Purdue defense recorded 35 sacks, the most since 2004 and the third-most in program history. Individually, Dillon Thieneman became an All-American (Third Team – AP) and was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year after setting school records for interceptions (6) and solo tackles (74) by a freshman; both marks ranked third nationally by any defender in college football throughout the 2023 campaign. On the edges of the defense, the duo of Nic Scourton and Kydran Jenkins had more sacks and TFLs than any other teammates in the conference, as both Boilermakers cracked the Big Ten’s Top 3 in both categories. Scourton led the conference with 10 sacks, becoming the eighth Boilermaker in history to crack double digits and the first since 2010.
Kane led Illinois’ group of outside linebackers to new heights in 2022, as Seth Coleman and Gabe Jacas combined for the most quarterback hits in the nation among edge duos and both were named All-Big Ten Conference Honorable Mention. Jacas was a Freshman All-American after totaling 31 tackles, 5.0 TFLs, and 4.0 sacks, the second-most sacks by an Illini true freshman in program history. Coleman was sixth on the team in tackles with 41 and second in sacks with 4.5, as Illinois produced its best record in 15 years and earned a berth in the ReliaQuest Bowl, the Illini's best bowl since the 2007 season.
Kane was a part of one of the best defensive turnarounds in the nation in 2021, helping Illinois to a 5-7 record and ranked wins over No. 7 Penn State and No. 20 Minnesota. Illinois' scoring defense (31st from 97th), third down defense (31st from 89th), and total defense (52nd from 114th) all improved more than 50 spots in the national rankings from 2020. The Illini made massive gains in the Big Ten defensive rankings, as well, jumping nine-or-more spots in scoring defense (4th from 14th), touchdowns allowed (3rd from 14th), yards allowed per game (5th from 14th), and passing yards allowed per game (1st from 10th).
Prior to his two seasons at Illinois, Kane was the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at SMU for three years. Kane joined the SMU staff in 2018 and in his first two seasons led the Mustangs to several national top 25 rankings, including the No. 1 ranking for sacks per game (3.92) and No. 3 ranking in tackles for loss (8.5 avg) in 2019.
He made the move to SMU after spending the 2016 and 2017 seasons as the defensive coordinator at Northern Illinois. That was his second stint at NIU, having served in multiple capacities for the Huskies from 2011-14. During the 2015 season, Kane coached linebackers at Kansas.
Kane helped lead the Huskies to three Mid-American Conference Championships and five bowl appearances during his time in DeKalb, including a win in the 2012 GoDaddy.com Bowl over Arkansas State. The Huskies ranked 26th in the nation in total defense in 2017, leading the nation in tackles for loss (8.8) and ranking second in sacks (3.31) and fourth in defensive TDs (5). NIU ranked seventh nationally in yards per play allowed at just 4.52, trailing only Alabama, Clemson, Wisconsin, Washington, Ohio State and Michigan.
NIU also ranked in the top 20 in third down conversion percentage defense (11th), rushing defense (16th) and first downs allowed (19th). In 2016, NIU ranked 17th nationally and led the MAC in red zone defense.
Kane made the move to NIU after three seasons (2008-10) at Wisconsin, serving as a graduate assistant (2008-09) and quality control assistant (2010). While at Wisconsin, the Badgers earned berths to the 2008 and 2009 Champs Sports Bowls and 2011 Rose Bowl.
His coaching career began in 2006 at Kansas, where he spent two seasons as a student assistant for his alma mater. He helped the Jayhawks to the 2008 Orange Bowl under Mark Mangino.
A 2006 graduate of the University of Kansas, Kane played linebacker for the Jayhawks, earning All-Big 12 honorable mention accolades from the Associated Press as a junior and senior. He helped Kansas to a pair of bowl appearances, including a win in the 2005 Fort Worth Bowl. Kane was a three-time Academic All-Big 12 honoree and was named team captain as a senior. He graduated from Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, where he helped lead the Hawklets to a Missouri state championship as a junior. Kane earned his master's degree in education at the University of Wisconsin in 2010.
He and wife Theresa have two sons, Jack and Colin, and one daughter, Nora.
Kevin Kane