Former Ohio State DC Kerry Coombs Hired as Cincinnati Cornerbacks Coach

Luke Fickell continued to bolster his coaching staff on Tuesday with the addition of former Ohio State DC Kerry Coombs.

Coombs (60) is a familiar face in the Queen City, holding experience as the Bearcats’ defensive backs coach from 2007-11. Running up success in the heat of the late Brian Kelly era, he made the move to Ohio State in 2012, and in 2017 his hard work landed him a job as the defensive backs coach for the NFL’s Tennessee Titans. The Cincinnati native also produced a stint with local Colerain high school from 1991 to 2006, where he won a state title and fancied a 161-34 record as head coach.

Coombs later returned to Columbus for the 2020 season as the team’s defensive coordinator. Under his second tenure, the Buckeyes produced mixed results, with the team finishing 60th in total defense in 2021. Through abysmal performances against Minnesota, Oregon and Tulsa, he would be demoted from calling plays after three games, and on January 13th, 2022, he agreed to part ways with the program.

Former Oklahoma State DC Jim Knowles was named to take over Coombs’s role as defensive coordinator for the Buckeyes.

Now back at Cincinnati, Coombs will take over the reigns of cornerbacks coach from Perry Eliano, who swapped over the offseason in the opposite direction — Cincinnati to Ohio State — after serving as an integral piece in ratcheting up the talents of Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner and Coby Bryant. Eliano was announced as the Buckeyes’ defensive backs coach last Friday.

Coombs is also set to serve as the Cincinnati Bearcats’ special teams coordinator in the heat of Brian Mason’s departure for Notre Dame.