Michigan coach Kerry Coombs discusses Sherrone Moore in new interview

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Former Ohio State football defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs opened up an interview Jan. 28 about his unorthodox first month as Michigan’s special teams coordinator. He was hired four days before head coach Sherrone Moore was fired.

Featured on “In the trenches with Jon Jansen,” Coombs walked through the hiring process and the aftermath of Moore’s exit. Moore was arrested hours after Michigan announced he was fired for cause on Dec. 10.

“Coach Moore had called me on a Thursday,” Coombs said. “I came up on a Friday and met with them and got offered the job on a Saturday. I showed up on Sunday, dropped my bags, had meetings. I ran the special teams meeting, ran the practice Monday, Tuesday. And then Wednesday, we had a coaching change. … You can’t make that up.”

Suddenly, Coombs’ future at the school was up in the air.

“It was like, ‘You know what? You might not have a job here,” Coombs said. “You might have been a two-week wonder and be out looking for work.’ But it worked out that I’m getting to stay.”

Sixteen days after Moore’s firing, the Wolverines hired former Utah coach Kyle Whittingham to lead the program. He confirmed on Jan. 2 that he would retain Coombs on the staff as special teams coordinator.

“That first month was like no month I’ve ever had my career,” Coombs said. “But now we’re back to normal.”

An Ohio native and Dayton graduate, Coombs coached at numerous different stops in the Buckeye State at the high school and collegiate level. He coached high school football for over two decades before landing an assistant role at Cincinnati under Brian Kelly. He joined Urban Meyer’s staff at Ohio State in 2012 as a cornerbacks coach.

Coombs stayed with Meyer until 2018, when he joined Mike Vrabel’s staff as an assistant with the Titans for two years. He joined Ryan Day’s staff as a defensive coordinator after Greg Mattison’s retirement in 2020.

Coombs was demoted from play-calling duties midway through the 2021 season and mutually parted ways with Ohio State at the season’s end.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Kerry Coombs discusses Sherrone Moore firing in new interview

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