Art Kaufman

Position: Assistant Coach/Defensive Line/Special Teams Coor.

Kaufman comes to Southern Miss after spending the previous three seasons at Middle Tennessee as the Blue Raiders linebackers coach. His duties with the Golden Eagles will be as the defensive line coach as well as the special teams coordinator.

The 2008 season with Southern Miss will mark his 25th year coaching at the collegiate level.

Kaufman, who has coached in seven bowl games during his career, made his way to Murfreesboro after two seasons as defensive line coach at East Carolina. Prior to joining the staff at ECU, Kaufman spent two seasons as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Arkansas Tech.

A 1980 graduate of the University of Arkansas at Monticello, Kaufman spent 10 years as an assistant coach at the University of Mississippi including six years as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.

Kaufman, a two-time All-American linebacker during his playing days at Arkansas-Monticello, followed his four-year career with the Boll Weevils by taking a graduate assistant position at Delta State University.

Kaufman earned his first full-time coaching job in 1983 when he became the outside linebackers coach at Northwestern State University (La.). In 1987, he was named defensive coordinator/linebackers coach at Northwestern State.

He left there the following year for Ole Miss to coach the Rebels' outside linebackers and defensive ends. While at Ole Miss, Kaufman helped guide the Rebels to back-to-back bowl appearances (1989 Liberty Bowl and 1991 Gator Bowl) for the first time since the 1970s.

Four years later, Kaufman was named the defensive coordinator/linebacker coach at Louisiana Tech University, where he remained until returning to Ole Miss in 1995. In 1992, his defensive unit ranked in the top five nationally.

He served again as the Rebels' defensive coordinator/linebacker coach for the next six years. During his second stint at Ole Miss, Kaufman helped the Rebels to four straight bowl berths (1997-2000), and his 1999 defense ranked fourth nationally in rushing defense.

Kaufman, a native of Dermott, Ark., has three daughters: Tara, Taylor, and Madison.