North Texas will hire longtime Kansas assistant Clint Bowen as defensive coordinator. The change was first reported by KU Sports.

“Coach Bowen is a huge addition for us and we are happy to have the opportunity to bring such an experienced defensive coach back to Denton,” North Texas coach Seth Littrell said in a statement. “He has been successful throughout his career, and is someone I respect greatly. I can’t wait to bring him into our family and culture and give him the opportunity to leave a great mark on our program.”

Bowen played at Kansas from 1991 to 1994 and coached from 1998 to 2009 at the school, serving as a grad assistant, special teams coordinator, defensive coordinator and several other roles. He spent a year at North Texas as defensive coordinator in 2011 before returning to Kansas from 2012 until 2019. 

Most recently, Bowen served as the safeties coach for Les Miles during the 2019 season. He served under six head coaches during his time at Kansas. He helped lead Kansas to the Orange Bowl in 2008. 

Even when Kansas struggled, Bowen consistently produced high-level defensive players. He helped produce All-Big 12 performers like linebacker Joe Dineen, cornerback Aqib Talib, Fish Smithson, Dorance Armstrong and Daniel Wise. Bowen was promoted to interim coach after Charlie Weis was fired in 2014. North Texas included comments with praise from Mark Mangino, Talib and Armstrong in their public release. 

North Texas coach Seth Littrell fired defensive coordinator Troy Reffett after a disappointing 2019 season, where the Mean Green fell to 5-7 after back-to-back nine-win seasons. Reffett had served with Littrell since the latter arrived at North Texas in 2016, and was promoted to defensive play caller in 2017.