A source tells CoachingSearch that former Penn State linebackers coach Ron Vanderlinden will join Troy Calhoun’s staff at Air Force.

Vanderlinden had been at Penn State from 2001-13. He was not set to return to PSU next season before Bill O’Brien left for the Houston Texans.

Before Penn State, Vanderlinden was the head coach at Maryland from 1997-2000, posting a 15-29 record with two 5-6 seasons in his final two years. He was the defensive coordinator at Northwestern from 1992-96, winning two Big Ten championships in 1995 and 1996 and reaching the Rose Bowl in the 1995 season with star linebacker Pat Fitzgerald.

Other stops in his career include Colorado, Ball State, Michigan and Bowling Green. He was a defensive assistant at Colorado from 1983-91, so he is familiar with the state.

Vanderlinden joins an Air Force staff that has lost two defensive coaches in recent weeks. Former defensive coordinator Charlton Warren left for the defensive backs job at Nebraska, and Brian Knorr, who had rejoined the program in the offseason, left for Indiana. Co-defensive coordinator / inside linebackers / assistant head coach Steve Russ was promoted to defensive coordinator.

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