South Carolina Trustees Approve Hiring Coordinator Jon Hoke

South Carolina trustees have approved a two-year contract for Jon Hoke to join the Gamecocks as co-defensive coordinator.

Hoke will make $750,000 a year. Current defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward has a year left on his deal that pays him $750,000 a season.

School leaders were expected to approve Hoke's agreement last Thursday, but a fatal shooting on campus earlier in the day delayed the hiring.

Hoke is a former defensive coordinator at Florida under Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier. He has spent the past 13 seasons coaching in the NFL with the Houston Texans and Chicago Bears.

Spurrier called on Hoke to improve a South Carolina defense that had slipped to next-to-last in the Southeastern Conference after ranking near the top of the league the previous three seasons.

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