University of Cincinnati interim football coach Kerry Coombs will lead the Bearcats as they prepare for an upcoming bowl game after Luke Fickell left to take the head coaching position for the Wisconsin Badgers. Coombs, in his second stint with the Bearcats, has succeeded at all levels of football coaching and will be a candidate for the head coach position, according to UC Director of Athletics John Cunningham.
Here are five things to know about Coombs:
A football coach for nearly 40 years
Starting in 1983 at Greenhills High School, Coombs' career covers the high school, collegiate and NFL ranks.
Titles won in high school and college
Coombs' 2005 Colerain Cardinals went undefeated en route to a Division I state title and left no doubt about which team in the state was the best. The Cardinals outscored their five postseason opponents 191-22 and set a state final record with 463 rushing yards. Coombs won a national championship at Ohio State as a defensive backs coach under then-head coach Urban Meyer.
NFL experience
Coombs joined head coach Mike Vrabel's staff on the Tennessee Titans in 2018 and 2019 as a secondary coach. The Titans reached the AFC Championship game in 2019 and had a top-10 passing defense in both of the seasons in which Coombs was a member of the coaching staff.
An elite recruiter
Coombs initially joined the college ranks as a member of then-head coach Brian Kelly's staff with the Bearcats in 2007. While Coombs is highly regarded as an elite coach on the field, he's also considered one of the best recruiters in the region.
A football family
Coombs, who played football at the University of Dayton before beginning his coaching career, has three children with his wife Holly. They have a daughter, Cortney, and sons Brayden and Dylan. Brayden was an assistant coach for both the Cincinnati Bengals and the Detroit Lions.
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