Cornerbacks coach Maurice Linguist is leaving A&M to take a similar role on the new coaching staff of the Dallas Cowboys. The move, first reported by ESPN, was confirmed by AggieYell.com early Sunday.

Linguist has not worked with Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy before or held an NFL job, but he has been highly successful everywhere he has been in the college ranks. After working at Buffalo and Mississippi State, Linguist helped make the secondary at the University of Minnesota one of the Big 10’s best units before coming to College Station.

The Aggie secondary struggled mightily in 2018, but improved significantly in 2019 with largely the same personnel. A&M went from 98th to 41st in passing yards allowed and 107th to 26th in pass efficiency defense. Corner Myles Jones made clear improvement, while Charles Oliver became one of the nation’s better nickel backs and Devin Morris came out of obscurity to become an effective reserve.

Linguist was also an excellent recruiter, helping the Aggies into new areas in the Midwest and increasing their success in the DC/Maryland/Virginia region. In the 2020 class, he helped lock down CB Jaylon Jones early in the process and was the driving force in landing 4-stars Antonio Johnson and Josh Moten.