CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Brady Hoke, who helped recruit quarterback Tom Brady to the University of Michigan, will become the defensive line coach for the Carolina Panthers, according to a league source.
Hoke will replace Eric Washington, who was promoted to defensive coordinator to replace Steve Wilks, who last week was hired as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.
This will be Hoke's first NFL job. He spent the past year at the University of Tennessee, where he was the defensive line coach and later the interim head coach after Butch Jones was fired.
He was the defensive line coach at Michigan and recruited the West coast in 1995 when Brady, who on Sunday will be trying to win his sixth Super Bowl for the New England Patriots, committed to the Wolverines.
Brady was among the first to call Hoke and congratulate him when Hoke was named the head coach at Michigan in 2011.
The Sporting News was the first to report Carolina's interest in Hoke.
The Panthers also are expected to name Travelle Wharton their assistant offensive line coach, per league source. Wharton had two stents with Carolina as a player. He will assist John Matsko.
