MARQUETTE – A recent NFL coach has been hired as the new defensive coordinator for the Northern Michigan University football team, Wildcats head coach Chris Ostrowsky announced Wednesday.

David Corrao spent the last eight seasons with the Miami Dolphins, including six as assistant linebackers coach.

Before that, Corrao was at the University of Mississippi in the prestigious Southeastern Conference. He was a graduate assistant coach for two seasons before spending his final season there as linebackers coach in 2007.

“We’re very excited as a football program to welcome Coach Corrao and his family to the Northern Michigan football family,” Ostrowsky said. “David comes to the Wildcats with experience working under some of the most accomplished defensive minds in football today.

“His background in the NFL parlayed with his SEC experience makes him uniquely qualified.”

While with the Dolphins, Corrao worked under two head coaches and under two different defensive schemes, a 3-4 from 2008-11 and a 4-3 from 2012-15.

With the Ole Miss Rebels, Corrao worked with Butkus Award recipient Patrick Willis and recruited in northern Florida, southeastern Mississippi and the California and Arizona junior college circuits.

He spent 2004 at Northeastern University in Massachusetts, where he coached the tight ends and was charged with recruiting in southern California and Arizona.

From 2000-03, Corrao worked on the defensive staff at Syracuse University, assisting with quality control in 2000 and 2001, the defensive backs in 2002 and the linebackers in 2003. He was on staff when the 14th-ranked Orange capped a 10-3 overall and 6-1 Big East season with a 26-3 win over Kansas State in the 2001 Insight.com Bowl.

Corrao graduated from the University of Arizona in 1997 and earned his master’s degree in instructional design, development and evaluation from Syracuse in 2003.

Corrao becomes the second coach on Ostrowsky’s staff with NFL experience, joining Marcus Knight, who played for the Oakland Raiders from 2000-02. Knight is the Wildcats’ wide receivers coach, pass game coordinator and recruiting coordinator.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.