When Kentucky said they would begin a search immediately to find a replacement for assistant Steve Ortmayer, they weren’t kidding.
Less than 24 hours when the news surfaced that Ortmayer would no longer be a part of Joker Phillips’ coaching staff, the Wildcats have a hired a new coach.
According to the Champaign News-Gazette, Greg Nord has left Illinois to become UK’s new tight ends coach. That was one of the titles held by Ortmayer; it’s uncertain if Phillips will hire another coach to coordinate special teams or if that unit will be taken care of by somebody currently on staff.
Nord was just hired by Ron Zook this past December as not only the TE coach but as the Illini’s recruiting coordinator as well.
The move to Lexington is a return home of sorts for the Louisville native as the long-time assistant spent most of his time as a college coach at both Louisville (1995-2009) and Kentucky (1982-1989).