Three weeks on from Josh Aldridge officially leaving Auburn and becoming East Carolina’s next defensive coordinator, Auburn reportedly filled his role on Tuesday.

Matt Zenitz of 247Sports was first to report that Roc Bellantoni is expected to become Auburn’s next outside linebackers/edge coach.

It’s a position he held on Auburn’s staff in 2022, coaching outside linebackers along with special teams. He won’t coach special teams this time around, but he’ll be returning to both a familiar place and role.

Bellantoni spent the last two seasons as Florida Atlantic’s defensive coordinator, working for head coach Tom Herman.

Prior to his most recent stint at FAU, Bellantoni made stops at Utah State, Washington State, Buffalo, FAU, Villanova, Eastern Illinois and Drake. His most successful stop was at Eastern Illinois where he held titles of defensive line coach, defensive coordinator and associate head coach, helping lead the program to five Ohio Valley Conference Championships.

During his earlier stint as defensive coordinator at FAU, Bellantoni coached now NFL All-Pro defensive end Trey Hendrickson, who finished the 2024 season as the NFL’s leader in sacks.

At Auburn, he’ll work with a relatively promising group of outside linebackers that includes Keyron Crawford, Chris Murray, Jamonta Waller and incoming freshman Jared Smith.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m