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Ex-Ohio State DC finds new job quickly after parting ways with Buckeyes
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Kerry Coombs didn’t need much time to land on his feet. Just a few days after it was reported that Ohio State would be parting ways with its defensive coordinator, Yahoo’s Pete Thamel broke some news.
Coombs is heading to Cincinnati to join Luke Fickell’s staff. He is expected to join the Bearcats as the cornerbacks coach and special teams coordinator for the 2022 season. This will be Coombs’ second stop at UC.
Coombs spent the past two seasons at Ohio State. He served as the defensive coordinator in 2020 and into 2021 but was relieved of that duty following a rocky start to the year. Matt Barnes took over early in the season.
Sources: University of Cincinnati expected to hire former Ohio State DC Kerry Coombs as the school’s new corners coach and special teams coordinator. He’s a former UC assistant who spent more than two decades coaching high school football in Cincinnati.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 18, 2022
From 2007-11, Coombs was on the staff at Cincinnati primarily as the defensive backs coach. He also took on the special teams coordinator role.
In 2012, Coombs joined Urban Meyer’s staff at Ohio State as the defensive backs coach, a position he would hold through the 2017 campaign. In 2018 and 2019, Coombs worked on Mike Vrabel’s staff with the NFL’s Tennessee Titans before a return to Columbus.
Coombs and Fickell both worked on Meyer’s staff for the Buckeyes for multiple years, so it’s not too surprising the two would reconnect. Plus, Cincinnati was looking for a new defensive backs coach after Perry Eliano left the Bearcats to join Ryan Day at Ohio State.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB