ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

Minnesota has hired Kevin Cosgrove as co-defensive coordinator and promoted defensive backs coach Ronnie Lee to co-coordinator.

Cosgrove and Lee take over the Gophers' defense after coordinator Ted Roof left Tuesday for the same post at Auburn.

Head coach Tim Brewster planned to move quickly with this hire, and Cosgrove emerged as the favorite. Cosgrove served as Nebraska's defensive coordinator from 2004-07 after overseeing Wisconsin's defense from 1995-2003.

Both Cosgrove and Lee have extensive experience in the Big Ten, with Lee making previous stops at both Michigan and Wisconsin. Lee and Cosgrove worked together in Madison for Cosgrove's final year there (2003).

"Coach Cosgrove brings a wealth of experience in the Big Ten as both a coach and recruiter," Brewster said in a statement. "Plus, he possesses a long track record of developing outstanding defenses. But, perhaps more importantly, Kevin is a great person and an outstanding fit on our staff. ... Ronnie Lee has done a tremendous job since joining our staff here at Minnesota.

"I'm very pleased to reward him with this promotion. Ronnie has proven himself to be an excellent coach and recruiter."

Recruiting certainly was a big factor in this move. Several incoming Gophers recruits seemed surprised by Roof's departure, and having Lee move into a bigger role creates continuity. Lee's secondary keyed a defense that led the Big Ten with 30 takeaways this fall.

Cosgrove's defenses got progressively worse at Nebraska, bottoming out with a unit that finished 112th nationally in 2007 (476.8 ypg allowed). His hiring likely will create mixed emotions among Gophers fans, but the guy can recruit and had a lot of success at Wisconsin and early on at Nebraska.

Roof did an excellent job helping the nation's worst defense in 2007 become respectable this fall. It's up to Cosgrove and Lee to take the unit one step further.