Tyrone Nix has agreed in principle to be the defensive coordinator on Jeff Traylor's first UTSA staff, sources told FootballScoop on Tuesday.
The contract has not been signed as of this writing, sources said, but Nix will be the Roadrunners' defensive coordinator barring an unexpected late-stage breakdown in talks.
Nix spent the 2019 campaign as the outside linebackers coach at Ole Miss, but was not retained by new Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin.
Though he's never worked with Traylor previously and has limited experience in the state of Texas, Nix has a wealth of experience coordinating defenses at the Group of 5 and Power 5 level. His first coordinator job came at Southern Miss in 2001, his alma mater, when Nix was just 29 years old, making him the youngest coordinator in FBS at that time.
From there, Nix coordinated defenses for South Carolina, Ole Miss and Middle Tennessee. In fact, Nix worked as a coordinator for 16 straight seasons from 2001-16.
He spent 2017 as a defensive analyst at Texas A&M and 2018 as the safeties coach at Virginia Tech before returning to Ole Miss.
Nix inherits a Roadrunner defense that finished 13th in the 14-team Conference USA in yards per play allowed (6.53) and scoring defense (33.9) en route to a 4-8 season under Frank Wilson.
Assuming the contract is signed as expected, Nix will complete Traylor's initial UTSA staff.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.