Tag: Kerry Coombs

Former Ohio State defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs joins Cincinnati Bearcats

ICYMI – This is welcome news for one whale of a guy! #GoBucks

Things change quickly in the world of big-time college football, and it appears that once one door closed, another one opened for former Ohio State defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs.

According to confirmation from Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell to the Columbus Dispatch, Coombs has been hired as the Bearcats’ cornerbacks coach and special teams coordinator. The news of the impending hiring was first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

For Coombs, it is a homecoming of sorts. He made his name in the coaching profession by building Cincinnati Colerain into one of the best high school programs in the state. From there, you know the journey that took him to Ohio State, then to the Tennessee Titans, and back to the Buckeyes.

Coombs was not retained as defensive coordinator in what appeared to be a mutual decision just last week. It’s good to see him land on his feet in a place that he has to be excited about.

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Kerry Coombs releases statement thanking ‘Buckeye Nation’

Kerry Coombs releases a statement thanking “Buckeye Nation.” We shouldn’t be surprised. #GoBucks

There was a flurry of coaching moves last week that Ryan Day made to potentially make Ohio State better on the field. Most of that came by way of the defensive staff, and that meant that not everyone that had a hand in the last couple of years would be able to stay on the banks of the Olentangy.

One of those staff members that will be moving on to other things is now former defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs. He’s meant a lot to football in the state of Ohio, both as a celebrated high school coach, and during his time with Ohio State. Because of that, it was no doubt a bittersweet moment to see a new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles hired to bring the silver bullets back to the form everyone has been accustomed to after two subpar seasons.

One of the things you have to admire about Coombs is his ability to take everything in stride with grace and appreciation. He had some comments that were the model of what you’d want to teach young people about adversity when asked about his playcalling duties being delegated to Matt Barnes, and now he’s come out and thanked “Buckeye Nation” for his time in the OSU program.

“As I prepare for the next mission in my life, I want to thank Buckeye Nation for allowing my family and me to share in some truly incredible experiences,” Coombs said in a statement released on Twitter. “I remain most grateful for the family of extraordinary young men I have been privileged to serve, as well as the men I have worked alongside. I will look back at the Shoe, the fans, the championships, and mostly the players with great fondness, while also looking forward with great anticipation to what God has in store for me.”

Coombs then of course added several long hashtags to what he laid out. We’ve grown accustomed to that, just like we’ve grown accustomed to what type of person he is. Good luck to Coombs and there’s no doubt he’ll land on his feet soon.

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Kerry Coombs will no longer be with Ohio State according to multiple reports

According to multiple reports, Ohio State assistant Kerry Coombs will no longer be on Ryan Day’s staff.

Kerry Coombs time with the Ohio State program has reportedly come to a close after two short years, according to multiple reports. Coombs’ first stint at OSU was a successful one under Urban Meyer from 2012 to 2017 when he was the defensive backs coach and part of the national title-winning 2014 squad.

From there, Coombs was lured to the NFL by former Ohio State player and assistant Mike Vrabel after he took the head coaching job of the Tennessee Titans. Coombs was the defensive backs coach in Nashville for two seasons (2018 and 2019) before Ryan Day hired him as the defensive coordinator in 2020.

From there, things did not go as well as anyone anticipated on that side of the ball. A defense that excelled under former co-defensive coordinators Jeff Hafley and Greg Mattison, saw significant drops in performance both seasons, unable to do its part for a team that was one of the best in the country in offensive production both years.

Things got so bad early on in 2021, that Coombs was relieved of his playcalling duties and sent up to the press box. Assistant Matt Barnes became the lead defensive playcaller with Coombs still on staff, and things seemed to get better — at least for awhile.

Ohio State Buckeyes defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs encourages players during warm-ups before a NCAA Division I football game between the Indiana Hoosiers and the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind. Credit: USA TODAY Sports

The Buckeyes were severly handled physically by Michigan and dropped The Game for the first time in nearly a decade by a score of 42-27. Coombs, a revered high school coach in the state of Ohio, has done a lot of good for football in the state and will always be remembered for his work on Meyer’s staff. But it now appears as though he’ll be turning a page into the next chapter of his life, one that does not appear to have a scarlet and gray hue to it.

This now makes both Matt Barnes and Kerry Coombs as casualties of what transpired on defense last season.

WATCH: Kerry Coombs has epic and noble response to changes on the defense

If you haven’t seen this, it’s one of those videos and quotes that you’ll want to show as a learning lesson on how to handle adversity!

There simply isn’t any room for error at a place like Ohio State. When the offense or defense isn’t clicking — and most specifically — when a loss surfaces, the natives get more restless than a bug at an exterminator convention.

We got a glimpse of that early this season when the Buckeyes’ struggled mightily on the defensive end, and defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs became the enemy of the people. There were blown assignments, bad technique, and puzzling personnel and playcalling according to many. Then, after the loss to Oregon and the less-than-stellar showing against Tulsa, it all came to a head.

Head coach Ryan Day vowed to make whatever changes needed to get the defense playing much better, and that went as far as having tough conversations with staff members, including Coombs. It even got to the point of changing defensive playcalling duties from Coombs to secondary coach Matt Barnes.

And so it went.

Since then, we’ve seen improvement on defense, and an improvement with the overall productivity of the team. But we had yet to really know what Coombs thought about it all. Was he bitter? Was there a longing to move on from the program? We’ve seen it many times before, but rarely do we see something like this at Ohio State.

It turns out, Coombs is a pretty legit guy. He met with the media this week and was asked about all the changes and how he felt about his role being changed. If you haven’t watched it, it’s definitely something that you’re going to want to save somewhere and have it ready to pull up because it’s a great teaching moment for youngsters and people set in their ways alike. Especially in a world that is becoming ever-increasingly about the individual and less about others.

It’s exactly the type of approach and words you want to hear from a person that isn’t looking for something to just be handed to him.

I have to say, Kerry Coombs has always had a great reputation as a person with whomever he has worked around and with, but it just went to a new level with how that type of response.

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Oregon will be facing a very athletic, but inexperienced Ohio State defense

Ohio State’s defense is athletic, but very inexperienced, which is something the Ducks will need to exploit on Saturday in their upset bid.

While the Ohio State offense is dynamic and will present the opposition problems all over the field, its defense is a bit of a different story.

The Buckeyes defensive personnel might be the best the Ducks will face from an athletic standpoint, but the scheme itself won’t be anything quarterback Anthony Brown hasn’t faced before.

It’ll be a basic 4-3 defense with one hybrid position the Buckeyes call “Bullet.” It’s a linebacker that has the size and toughness to play the regular linebacker position and has the speed and agility to help out in the secondary.

Sophomore Ronnie Hickman played that Bullet spot and led the Buckeyes with 11 tackles in the 45-32 win over Minnesota.

Like Hickman, Ohio State’s linebackers and secondary are all fairly new as starters and if Oregon wants to have a chance at the upset, this is where the Buckeyes might be vulnerable.

Ohio State did play against Minnesota in Week 1 without starting corners Cameron Brown and Sevyn Banks, and their status is still unknown for the Oregon game. If Ohio State has to play with two inexperienced corners, the Ducks have the players to exploit that and score points.

In their absence, Ohio State had to rely on second and third-string cornerbacks, Denzel Burke and Ryan Watts, against Minnesota and the Gophers were able to make a lot of plays downfield.

Starting safety Josh Proctor came out of the Minnesota game with an apparent shoulder injury and his status is also a question mark. Buckeyes’ coach Ryan Day doesn’t give out injury reports or even a depth chart, so it’s anyone’s guess as to who will go out on the field for the Buckeyes defense. But according to defensive coordinator, Kerry Coombs, his guys will be a physical group.

“I think it starts with a certain physicality. You have to be physical here because practice is very physical,” Coombs said. “I think these kids have come through some incredible situations over the last two years that I would say speaks volumes to their mental toughness.”

In order for the Ducks to challenge that mental toughness, they’re going to have to play ahead on the scoreboard and put the worry of an upset in Ohio State’s mind for as long as possible. It almost worked against the Ducks against Fresno State as the Bulldogs hung in there the entire game.

The lack of experienced personnel on the Ohio State defense could put them in the exact same position.

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Ohio State in top five for Georgia safety set to announce soon

Tracking another defensive back that could end up in scarlet and gray …

Ohio State has made the final cut for a highly sought safety from the state of Georgia. Jake Pope took his official visit to OSU on June 18, and the Buckeyes are squarely in play for the three-star prospect.

Beyond Ohio State, Pope’s list includes Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and Notre Dame. Most notably not making the cut… Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines, who were originally in the safety’s top eight.

Pope made his announcement via his personal Twitter account, and I have to say, the kid looks good in scarlet and gray. At this point, 247Sports has Pope crystal balled to South Bend, however, the confidence level isn’t super high.

Anything can happen when you’re dealing with 17- and 18-year-olds, and it looks like we’ll know this young man’s intentions soon. Adding another quality defensive back would be a nice addition for Kerry Coombs and company.

Ohio State football 2022 recruiting commitment tracker

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WATCH: Ryan Day, Kevin Wilson, and Kerry Coombs wrap up spring game for Ohio State

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day as well as assistants Kerry Coombs and Kevin Wilson met with the media today to wrap up the spring.

After putting spring ball on the shelf last year, Ohio State football was able to muscle through this year’s version and at least find some things out about itself prior to summer workouts and fall camp. That’s already light years ahead of where things stood last season. And it’s a good thing too because the Buckeyes are replacing a quarterback, its entire linebacking corps, and looking to retool on the backend of the defense as well.

It all culminated with the annual LiFESports spring game last weekend where we got to see guys like Jack Sawyer, numerous wide receivers, and others shine in front of some actual fans from the general public for the first time in nearly a year and a half.

To wrap it all up, head coach Ryan Day and assistants Kerry Coombs and Kevin Wilson met with the media on Friday to put a neat little bow on things as we now go head into a bit of a quiet period (relatively speaking) until fall camp resumes.

In case you missed anything Day and the other coaches said, you can catch all of his comments by clicking on the below that was shared to the Ohio State Buckeyes Twitter account. It’ll take you over to OhioStateBuckeyes.com where you can watch the presser in its entirety.

As a primer, the coaches discuss when they expect to name a starting quarterback, the development of the defensive backs, how the offense will change with a new quarterback, and more.

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5 coaches Titans should target for defensive coordinator position

The Titans have some intriguing options to fill their defensive coordinator vacancy.

After the Tennessee Titans didn’t name a defensive coordinator in 2020 and went on to have a terrible season on defense, it’s time for this team to hire someone for the position.

Granted, outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen handled all of the duties of a defensive coordinator without the title, but he was a rookie play-caller and didn’t have much success in the role. As a result, it’s time for change.

As we turn to the 2021 offseason, it appears that the Titans are actively looking to fill the role after Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on Thursday that the team had interviewed Pittsburgh Steelers defensive assistant and secondary coach Teryl Austin for the job.

Now that we know Tennessee is planning on filling the vacancy for this season, we thought we’d take a look at five coaches the Titans should consider for the job. In making this list, we also considered the fact that familiarity is something that is important to head coach Mike Vrabel.

WATCH: What Ohio State defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs said leading up to the Sugar Bowl vs. Clemson

Ohio State defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs met with the media today to discuss the matchup with Clemson in the Sugar Bowl.

It was another day of game week for the Sugar Bowl and that means we heard from some more players and coaches from both Ohio State and Clemson as they both prepare to be a part of the College Football Playoff.

The defensive side of the ball took their turn today for the Buckeyes, and that means we got to hear from defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs. He wasn’t a part of this game last year, but is looking to make his mark this time around.

We’ve got his comments in their entirety in case you missed anything he had to say thanks to video from the folks at the Sugar Bowl. We also have the full transcript of his comments on the page following.

Watch the below film from the OSU media availability today and listen to Coombs discuss how difficult it is to defend Clemson, what this game means to some of the players, how similar both programs are on the recruiting trail, and more.

NEXT … Full Kerry Coombs Sugar Bowl media availability transcript

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Texas Football: Is Urban Meyer exploring staff options?

With reports running rampant about the Texas Longhorns meeting with Urban Meyer, we take a look at a few names who could join him.

Everywhere you turn there is a new rumor or source regarding the status of the Texas Longhorns head coaching position. Continue reading “Texas Football: Is Urban Meyer exploring staff options?”