In the aftermath of firing special teams coach J.B. Brown, which was deserved for on-field performance, Michigan hired former Ohio State defensive backs coach and defensive coordinator to be the special teams coordinator.
Coombs is 64 years old and spent time coaching high school in Ohio before going to Cincinnati in 2007 as a defensive backs coach. He would go on to work at Ohio State from 2012-2017 and 2020-2021, with the 2018-2019 seasons spent with the Tennessee Titans coaching the secondary under former Ohio State player Mike Vrabel. Coombs went back to Cincinnati from 2022-2024 and coached cornerbacks and special teams before taking a year off in 2025.
I am not enthused about this hire. I think Coombs has been a solid defensive backs coach and a very good recruiter, and that's about it. He has not been impressive as a coordinator of defense or special teams. Unfortunately, he will not be coaching defensive backs and I'm not sure how much he'll be involved in recruiting, so his two biggest strengths seem to be somewhat negated. I do think he'll be a step up from Brown, but this isn't the kind of hire that really moves the needle very much.
Coombs was Ohio State's ace recruiter if they wanted to poach a player from the state of Michigan, which he did when he recruited running back Mikey Weber and offensive linemen Michael Jordan and Joshua Alabi.
Fun fact: Coombs's son Brayden was the special teams coach for the Detroit Lions in 2020 but was fired for calling a fake punt without authorization from interim head coach Darrell Bevell.
Now I know some Michigan fans will not like the hire because Coombs coached at Ohio State, but I think Coombs is a solid staff addition. I've seen him talk before, and this press conference speech is a pretty good one to represent how he handles himself:
Why does a photo from 1997 look like 1967?!
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