Posted by: Chris Vannini on February 8, 2013

Sources have told CoachingSearch.com that Air Force defensive line coach Ron Burton has accepted the same position at Michigan State.

Burton just finished his 10th year at Air Force. He replaces veteran Ted Gill, whose contract was not renewed, the school announced two weeks ago.

Burton played defensive line at North Carolina from 1982-86 before four seasons in the NFL as a linebacker. After two seasons as a graduate assistant at UNC, he took the defensive backs job at Morehead State in 1994.

From there, he went to Eastern Michigan and spent two seasons as linebackers coach. He was the linebackers coach at Indiana from 1997-01, producing two Butkus Award nominees.

His ties to the state of Michigan continue at Grand Valley State, where he was the defensive line coach on the 2002 Division II national championship team.

At Michigan State, Burton will inherit a unit on one of the top defenses in the nation. In 2012, the Spartans finished with the No. 8 rushing defense and No. 4 total defense.

Update: Michigan State has confirmed our report.

"He was simply dynamic during the entire interview process," Mark Dantonio said in a statement. "We had an opportunity to share some ideas last year in a professional development setting, and we believe Ron is a natural fit in terms of defensive terminology and concepts. He also brings great energy and management skills to the coaching staff. We look forward to seeing Ron interact with our players and watching our defensive linemen thrive under his teaching."

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Chris Vannini is the lead writer for CoachingSearch.com and has covered Michigan State sports for The State News, The Oakland Press and MLive.com. He writes a weekly column for the Detroit Free Press on behalf of SB Nation. Vannini lives in Big Ten country, so his foot speed is far from SEC caliber, but his pulse on coaches is hard to match. Be sure to follow @CoachingBuzz on twitter and send your feedback to chris@coachingsearch.com