CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Trace Armstrong jokes that Bill Young was so demanding a football coach that he regularly "violated my civil rights."
Armstrong, a defensive end for Arizona State in the mid-1980s when Young was the team's no-nonsense defensive line coach, won't go into details. But Armstrong obviously didn't hold a grudge.
After Tim Walton was fired as the University of Miami's defensive coordinator in January, Armstrong approached Hurricanes coach Randy Shannon about Young, who was at Kansas.
"I thought Bill was the perfect fit," said Armstrong, the former Dolphins standout.
Nobody's arguing.
After opening the season by holding Charleston Southern to seven points and 126 total yards, the Hurricanes turned in one of their best defensive efforts in recent memory against Florida.
For three quarters, Young's zone blitzes and line shifts confounded the Gators' array of offensive stars. Florida led only 9-3 at the start of the fourth quarter before UM's fatigue and lack of offense resulted in the Gators scoring 17 unanswered points for a 26-3 victory.
Despite the loss, the early signs are positive for Young and a defensive unit that dropped to 52nd nationally in scoring defense last season after ranking no lower than 22nd since 1999.
Young spent the past six seasons (2002-07) in Lawrence, Kan., running a Jayhawks' defense that ranked 105th out of 115 Division I-A schools in points allowed (36.2 per game) the year before he took over.
By 2007, Kansas was fourth nationally in scoring defense (16.4) on a Jayhawks team that won a school-record 12 games, including a victory over No. 3 Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl.
"He just hung in there and kept working with the kids and helping them get better through repetition and hard work," Kansas coach Mark Mangino said. "It got to be a time here on defense that we got to be pretty good."
Not bad for a 62-year-old lifelong assistant who jokes that he's "in the twilight of a very mediocre career."
Armstrong remembers Young taking over a "talented, but not particularly disciplined" defensive line at Arizona State in 1985 and molding it into a unit that was vital to the Sun Devils' 1987 Rose Bowl berth, the first in school history.
"He was a very motivated, tough coach that taught us about discipline and working hard," said Armstrong, who played in the NFL for 15 years.
Young went on to serve as defensive coordinator at Ohio State (1988-95), Oklahoma (1995-96) and USC (1997-2000). After spending the 2001 season as defensive line coach for the Detroit Lions, Young returned to college football as Kansas' defensive boss in 2002.
Kirk Herbstreit, the ESPN analyst who played quarterback for the Buckeyes from 1989-93, said he was "intimidated" by Young.
"He's been around long enough to know what it takes to be able to motivate and get guys to understand what to do," Herbstreit said. "(UM's players) might be terrified of him, but they're going to want to play for him."
Young grew up in Oklahoma City dreaming of playing for the Sooners, but received a scholarship to Oklahoma State, where he was a defensive end and outside linebacker from 1965-67. It was during his playing days that Young realized his future was in coaching.
"I had two distinctions as a player — I was the smallest defensive end in the Big Eight and the worst," he said. "I knew I was never going to be a good enough player to play pro football. If you can't play it, coach it."
In 39 years of coaching, Young may have enjoyed his finest season in 2007. The Jayhawks completed a dramatic turnaround to finish No. 7 in both major polls and Young was a finalist for the Frank Broyles Award, given to the nation's top assistant coach.
Young may have stayed at Kansas for the rest of his coaching days if the UM job hadn't opened up.
"I just didn't think there would be any opportunity for me,'' he said. "But once I saw the crack in the door, I stuck my head in there."
That crack was provided by Armstrong, who played for the Dolphins during Shannon's tenure (1998-2000) as an assistant coach.
"I think a lot of Randy and I've always wanted him to be successful and I thought, 'What does Randy need on that staff?'" Armstrong said.
While some viewed his decision to leave Kansas for Miami as a lateral move, Young said it affords him the chance to fulfill a goal.
"I'm getting along in my career and I would love to have an opportunity to win a national championship," he said. "We might have gotten that chance at Kansas, but the best way to look at the future is to look at the past.
"Look at Miami. They've won five national championships. There is an opportunity to do that here."
Jorge Milian writes for The Palm Beach Post. E-mail: jmilian AT pbpost.com