The Indianapolis Colts are hiring Marion Hobby as their defensive line coach, reuniting him with defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz reported Wednesday night.
Hobby brings a wealth of experience from both the NFL and college football ranks, including a formative stretch with the Cincinnati Bengals from 2021 to 2024. During his time in Cincinnati, the 59-year-old coached All-Pro defensive end Trey Hendrickson, who recorded a combined 35 sacks in the 2023 and 2024 seasons. This period also included the Bengals’ run to Super Bowl LVI in 2022 and an appearance in the AFC Championship Game.
Hobby spent the 2025 season at the University of Tennessee, serving as a defensive analyst for his alma mater. In that role, he helped the Volunteers rank fifth nationally in sacks per game with 3.0 and 13th in tackles for loss per game at 6.8. His move back to the NFL comes after a December appointment at Arkansas as the Razorbacks’ defensive line coach, a role he had agreed to through February 2028 with a $700,000 yearly salary. His Arkansas contract included no-compete clauses for SEC and NFL positions through the 2026 season.
Hobby’s NFL coaching experience spans a decade and includes defensive line coaching positions with the Miami Dolphins (2019–20), Jacksonville Jaguars (2017–18), and New Orleans Saints (2006–07). Impressively, his run with the Dolphins’ 2020 defense contributed to a sixth-ranked points-allowed defense, a top-10 sack ranking, and the league’s best third-down efficiency. While with the Jaguars, he helped Calais Campbell earn First-Team All-Pro honors and finish second in Defensive Player of the Year voting after recording 14.5 sacks in 2017 and 10.5 in 2018.
Hobby also has broad collegiate coaching credentials. He was co-defensive coordinator and defensive ends coach at Clemson from 2011 to 2016, during which the Tigers appeared in three Orange Bowls, two College Football Playoffs, and won the 2016 National Championship. Clemson racked up a national-best 597 tackles for loss from 2012 to 2016. He was the defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at Duke (2008–10), the defensive ends coach at Clemson (2005), and the defensive line coach at Ole Miss (1999–2004). Beginning in 1995 at Tennessee-Martin as a strength and conditioning coach, he went on to help Tennessee win the 1998 national championship as an assistant.
Hobby’s playing career speaks to his defensive background as well. A three-year starter for the Tennessee Volunteers, he earned All-Conference honors in 1989 and was drafted in the third round of the 1990 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. He later played three seasons with the New England Patriots (1990–92).
The post Colts hiring SEC coach to help on defense appeared first on ClutchPoints.
