The Cincinnati Bengals lost a stellar rising coach when the Detroit Lions announced Saturday they had hired Brayden Coombs to coach special teams.
Coombs, son of local coaching powerhouse Kerry, was one of the big up-and-coming names in coaching circles at the age of 33.
In fact, Brayden might’ve been higher up the food chain in most places. But Cincinnati has Darrin Simmons — now assistant head coach — who happens to be one of the best in the NFL at what he does.
Coombs had joined the Bengals in 2009 as an intern and rapidly ascended. He worked with both sides of the football, as an advance scout and had a hand in crafting game plans.
Consider this — when Zac Taylor arrived, Coombs was just one of seven coaches retained. And not only that, Taylor expanded on Coombs’ responsibilities.
All this doesn’t even mention the fact Coombs has been a close understudy of Simmons for all these years.
It seemed like a matter of time before another team poached Coombs, unfortunately. But if he keeps on his current trajectory as he runs special teams by himself in Detroit now, it might not be long before we hear his name whispered in head-coaching conversations.
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