UMaine football promotes Jared Keyte to defensive coordinator

Mar. 24—First-year University of Maine head football coach Jordan Stevens hired from within to fill the vacant defensive coordinator position.

Jared Keyte, who had been the team's special teams coordinator the past four seasons, has been elevated to defensive coordinator. He will also coach the linebackers.

He replaces Mathieu Araujo, who was hired on Jan. 3 but left less than two months later to take an assistant coach job with the NFL's Miami Dolphins.

Keyte joined the UMaine coaching staff in 2016 and has also worked with the safeties in addition to the linebackers.

He coached the linebackers in 2018 when UMaine had the nation's best run defense en route to its first ever berth in the Football Championship Subdivision semifinals.

In addition, Tom McEntire has been added to the coaching staff as a defensive backs coach.

McEntire had worked with the safeties under Jack Cosgrove at UMaine during the 2008 season and comes to UMaine from Lafayette, where he was the defensive backs coach. He also had coaching stints at Delaware, Rutgers, Baldwin-Wallace, Wake Forest and his alma mater, Thiel College (Pennsylvania).

"Jared did a great job with the special teams. He has a lot of energy and has developed relationships with the players," Stevens said. "Tom is also a great addition. He knows Maine and Lafayette plays a similar defense to ours."

Keyte said in a press release he was "thrilled and honored" to be named the defensive coordinator.

"I look forward to carrying on the legacy and tradition of the Black Hole. We will continue to build on the values that have made us successful historically; toughness, physicality, and team-first commitment. I strongly believe in the direction this program is heading and I am excited to facilitate growth within this unit through strong mentorship and hands-on coaching from our staff," he said.

This past season, Keyte's special teams led the CAA and ranked third nationally in blocked kicks, ranked second in the CAA and fifth nationally in kickoff return average, and was third in the conference in punt coverage.

He spent the 2015 season at Rutgers where he served as a defensive quality control and player development coach, specifically working with the linebackers.

The Holland Patent, New York, native and former Utica College quarterback also had coaching gigs at Springfield College and Utica College.

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