Michigan football head coach Sherrone Moore fired special teams coach J.B. Brown earlier this week and replaced him with a former Ohio State assistant coach.
Kerry Coombs, the defensive coordinator who was fired after "The Game" in 2021, in which the Wolverines ran wild on his defense, will be back in the Big House every week this season, after Michigan football announced his hire on Saturday.
Before fans worry too much, Ohio State did win a national championship with him as the special teams coordinator and cornerbacks coach. Coombs also has a repuation as an elite recruiter, even winning the 247 Sports recruiter of the year award back in 2017.
Can Kerry Coombs fix Michgan's special teams?
That should aid Michigan's efforts in Ohio, a state that Michigan football always wants to recruit well in. The bigger question is whether or not Coombs can bring stability to the special teams room, which was one of the worst units in college football by just about any metric.
Coombs was most recently the special teams coach for Cincinnati. He's also had multiple stints in the NFL and with Ohio State.
From that perspective, Coombs will know exactly what it takes to beat Ohio State. He's very familiar with that program. Michigan fans will surely bring up the 2021 edition of the game. But Coombs is being hired as special teams coordinator, not defensive coordinator.
The long-time assistant has also spent time coaching high school football. That means he can teach. He also can recruit, which makes this a win-win in my book.