Mike Mickens 2024-25 Football Staff

THE MICKEN’S FILE

Hometown: Dayton, Ohio
High School: Wayne
College: Cincinnati (2011)
Wife: Jessica
Children: Millie

PLAYING EXPERIENCE

2005-08 Cincinnati Cornerback
2009 Dallas Cowboys Cornerback
2009 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cornerback
2009 Cincinnati Bengals Cornerback
2009 Calgary Stampeders Cornerback

BOWLS PLAYED

2006 Cincinnati (International)
2007 Cincinnati (PapaJohns.com)
2008 Cincinnati (Orange)

COACHING CAREER

2011 Cincinnati Defensive Assistant
2012 Indiana State Defensive Assistant
2013 Idaho Cornerbacks
2014-17 Bowling Green Cornerbacks
2018-19 Cincinnati Cornerbacks
2020-22 Notre Dame Cornerbacks
2023- Notre Dame Cornerbacks/Defensive Pass Game Coordinator

BOWLS COACHED IN

2011 Cincinnati (Liberty Bowl)
2014 Bowling Green (Camellia Bowl)
2015 Bowling Green (GoDaddy.com Bowl)
2018 Cincinnati (Military Bowl)
2019 Cincinnati (Birmingham Bowl)
2020 Notre Dame (CFB Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game)
2021 Notre Dame (Fiesta Bowl)
2022 Notre Dame (Gator Bowl)
2023 Notre Dame (Sun Bowl)

PERSONAL INFORMATION

• Played at the University of Cincinnati where he became the school’s career leader in interceptions (14) and interception return yards (296); earned All-America honors from the FWAA and Playboy in 2008.
• Was a semifinalist for the Thorpe Award in 2008, as well as a first team All-BIG EAST selection, helping the Bearcats to an Orange Bowl berth.
• Dayton, Ohio, native graduated from Cincinnati with a bachelor’s in criminal justice in 2011.
• At Wayne High School, was teammates with current Notre Dame DC Marcus Freeman.
• Selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2009 NFL Draft
• Had stints with Tampa Bay and Cincinnati, as well as the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders, before retiring due to injury.

COACHING ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Finished his fourth season with the Irish in 2023, while adding defensive passing game coordinator duties to his resume.
• The Notre Dame defense completed the season as the top pass efficiency unit in the country (94.91) and fourth in pass yards allowed per game (154.2).
• Developed one of the top defensive back duos in the nation with sophomore Benjamin Morrison and senior Cam Hart at the corner positions. The pair combined to break up 14 passes in 2023, while intercepting two passes and forcing two fumbles.
• Helped graduate transfer nickel cornerback Thomas Harper post the best season of his career, piling up 39 tackles, six tackles-for-loss, two sacks and three passes broken up.
• The 2023 defense ranks among the top-six all-time at Notre Dame in eight different categories, including opponent pass-yards-per-attempt (1st, 5.4), total pass yards allowed (1st, 1,85) and opponent yards-per-play (2nd. 4.4).
• Keyed the development of Benjamin Morrison in 2022, who earned Freshman All-America honors with five interceptions – which was the most for any Irish player in a season since 2012.
• The cornerback group contributed to Notre Dame’s 21st total defense national ranking, with a 42nd ranking in team defense pass efficiency. The Irish only allowed 198 yards passing per game in 2022, which ranked 23rd nationally.
• During the 2021 season, he led the cornerback group to a number of Top-20 national rankings.
• The Irish ranked 10th in turnovers gained (25) and third down conversion percentage defense (.329) and 14th nationally in interceptions (15).
• Oversaw the growth from Clarence Lewis and Cam Hart in 2021. Lewis started all 13 games at cornerback and Hart started his first 10 career games after moving from wide receiver to cornerback.
• Hart broke onto the scene against Wisconsin, picking off his first two career passes in the 41-13 win over the Badgers. He was the second Irish player to have two interceptions in a single game in 2021 (Hamilton vs. FSU).
• It is the first time since 2018 that the Irish had two players with two interceptions in a game during the same season.
• First season at Notre Dame in 2020, coaching cornerbacks; mentored graduate transfer and All-ACC Third Team selection Nick McCloud to a season with a team-leading eight PBU, adding 33 tackles, one INT and two fumble recoveries, both coming in the 47-40 2OT victory over then-No. 1 Clemson, including one to seal the win. McCloud was signed as a free agent by the Buffalo Bills.
• Came to Notre Dame following two seasons coaching cornerbacks at his alma mater, where the Bearcats had back-to-back 11-win seasons, won two bowl games and the American Athletic Conference East Division Championship in 2019.
• The 2019 UC squad led the AAC in scoring defense for the second-straight season and ranked among the league’s top-three in rushing and total defense.
• Mentored Ahmad Gardner to Freshman All-America status and first-team all-conference honors.
• The 2018 edition of the Bearcats defense ranked among the top-15 nationally in rushing defense, scoring defense and total defense.
• Spent four years as the cornerbacks coach at Bowling Green.
• Helped the Falcons to a MAC championship in 2015, as BGSU was the only team in the conference with more interceptions (20) than TD passes allowed (19), contributing to a league-leading plus-12 turnover ratio.
• The 2014 seasons saw a pair of freshman corners combine for nine interceptions, including a school freshman record of five by Nick Johnson.
• Mickens began his coaching career at Idaho after serving as a defensive assistant at Cincinnati and Indiana State.