Former Miami LB Praises Mizzou’s Derek Nicholson

INDIANAPOLIS — Recently hired Missouri Tigers linebackers coach Derek Nicholson carries high praise from many at his prior stops, including Miami Hurricane linebacker Francisco Mauigoa.

Mauigoa was coached for two seasons by Nicholson, during which he emerged as one of the best linebackers in the ACC. The impact Nicholson had on Mauigoa was profound and the coaching he did individually and for the whole team also appears to have been impactful.

At the 2025 NFL scouting combine, Mauigoa praised his former linebackers coach.

“They’re getting a great leader,” Mauigoa said. “He talks about football but he knows about life.”

A coach that can relate with players and coach them on a personal level are ones that leave a mark on a player. That’s the case with Nicholson and should make the addition of him to Drinkwitz’s staff even more exciting for the talented players he is soon to be coaching.

It seems as if Nicholson did more than coach football to Mauigoa and presumably others. Even if Mauigoa doesn’t go on to have a long NFL career, he will take lessons from Nicholson that stick with him for the rest of his life.

“Words can’t express how thankful I am for coach Derek Nicholson,” Mauigoa said. “He taught more than just football.”

Mauigoa believes Nicholson is one of the best at his job. There is a clear admiration and respect from Mauigoa to his former coach, one that the hopeful draftee will remember. All Mauigoa had to say about him was good things, a good sign for Missouri.

“I’m thankful I had the chance to be able to be coached by him and be able to learn from the best,” Mauigoa said. 

In some ways, Nicholson may be one of the most impactful people Mauigoa was coached by in his football career. All Mauigoa has for his former linebackers coach is thanks and praise, with the utmost respect for what Nicholson did for him.

Mauigoa clearly has been affected by the coaching style of Nicholson, another reason Tiger fans and its players should be excited about the staff addition. He also is a great example to follow for the players he’s coached with his years of experience.

“He’s a great leader [and] role model and it’s always a pleasure to play for him,” Mauigoa said. 

Nicholson has a solid resume of linebackers that he’s coached. During his three-season stint at Louisville, he coached Momo Sanogo and Yasir Abdullah, with Abdullah starting to find success with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Alongside Mauigoa at Miami, he aided in the gradual improvement of junior linebacker Wesley Bissainthe, as well as former Missouri linebacker Corey Flagg Jr, an impactful member of the Tiger defense.

It was announced that the former Miami staffer was being brought onto the Missouri staff on Jan. 16, 2025. The news came after the announcement that D.J. Smith, a long-time Tiger defensive assistant, was taking the defensive coordinator job at Appalachian State.

Both Nicholson and Mauigoa will have new homes during the 2025-26 season. Those new locations of playing and coaching should provide brand new challenges and hopefully new successes too.