When Bret Bielema takes to the field for his first game as Arkansas’ head coach, he’ll have at least one very familiar face in place.
In a release, the Razorbacks announced that Chris Ash has been hired as Bielema’s defensive coordinator. Ash served in the same capacity for Bielema the past two seasons at Wisconsin.
“I am excited to welcome Chris to our staff,” said Bielema in a statement. “In the last three years working together, I gained a great respect for the way Chris teaches the game and develops student-athletes.
“I’ve followed his career for a long time, and his knowledge of the way we run our program and specifically the defense will be valuable for us moving forward in our transition. Chris helped us improve drastically in our pass defense at Wisconsin where his defenses consistently ranked in the top 25 nationally in all the major categories.”
Ash came to Wisconsin in 2010 and served as defensive backs coach. He was promoted a year later to coordinator, and was in charge of a unit that finished 13th in scoring defense in 2011 and is currently 19th in that category this season.
UA also announced that Ash will remain with the UW football program through the Badgers’ Jan. 1 appearance in the Rose Bowl.