Miami defensive coordinator Kevin Steele has worked for Bowden, Saban, Swinney | D'Angelo

CORAL GABLES — Kevin Steele is the consummate lifer. He's coached in 11 different cities with 14 stops, including four years in the NFL.

Not included is a flirtation with Maryland, where the former Baylor head coach and respected defensive coordinator was close to finalizing a deal when new Miami coach Mario Cristobal called.

Steele answered.

"I would not be here if he was not the head coach at Miami, I don't think," Steele said.

Steele, 64, became part of Miami's latest revival, accepting Cristobal's offer after the Miami native returned to his alma mater. Steele has worked for Johnny Majors, Bobby Bowden, Nick Saban, Dabo Swinney and Gus Malzahn. He never worked for Cristobal, but the two were part of Saban's Alabama staff for two years.

"Everyone wants a chance to be a champion," Steele said. "When you've done it as long as I've done it, you don't make a decision to go somewhere unless you think you can be a champion."

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The hiring of Steele as defensive coordinator further exemplified Miami's renewed commitment to the program which started with Cristobal being lured from Oregon. The Hurricanes are all in after two disappointing decades, and Cristobal has assembled the best staff money can buy.

Steele, like those of us who have been around the area since the '80s, knows what Miami was when it was the biggest — and best — brand in the country. National championships were the bar, not winning seasons or hoping to get to a conference title game. The city was electric every Saturday, not just one day of the year when Florida State or Notre Dame came to town.

"I coached in games against UM in the old Orange Bowl," Steele said. "It was real. I saw it firsthand. You know what this place is, you know what it can be with a lot of hard work ... and it will be."

It will be.

Steele has some valuable experience when it comes to the current state of the Hurricanes program. In 2007, he was a part of Saban's first staff at Alabama, joining as defensive coordinator. The Tide were 15 years removed from their last national championship (not quite as long as Miami's 20-year drought) and had four losing seasons in the previous decade.

That year, Alabama lost to Louisiana-Monroe at home. Two years later, it was the national champion.

Steele was asked whether he can draw on that experience.

"Sure. Absolutely," he said. "It's an easy answer. It's physical and mental toughness backed up by hard work. It's not magic. You got to have good players, they have to buy in and they have to change the culture.

"But it's been done here before. It can be done again. It will be done again."

There he goes again: It will be done again.

Tough to duplicate Alabama's quick turnaround

The consensus is that if anyone can do it, it's this head coach with this staff and these resources. But do not expect an Alabama-like turnaround. Times are different (you think?). Miami today is not Alabama of 15 years ago (no program can follow a blueprint from 15 years ago). And Cristobal is not Saban.

Still, the Hurricanes have advantages, some similar to Alabama in 2007 and one that at one time gave Miami a big edge in recruiting but has been mitigated the past decade or so.

"If we work hard and we get the culture right, which it's been before, then there is no question (it can be done) because of its location, because of what it's done before," Steele said. "We're not at the trophy ceremony. We have a lot of hard work to do. A lot of hard work. But the players are willing to do it and they're doing it with a good energy.

"That's what got Miami to where they were."

Here's where Steele says: And they can get there again.

Tom D'Angelo is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at tdangelo@pbpost.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Hurricanes draw on DC Kevin Steele's ties to Nick Saban