A former assistant coach working under Urban Meyer is plucking from the Meyer coaching tree in the NFL. Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel has called on Ohio State defensive backs coach Kerry Coombs to join him with the Titans. Pete Thamel of Sports Illustrated broke the news via Twitter on Wednesday afternoon.
Source: OSU DB coach Kerry Coombs is leaving for the Tennessee Titans. He worked with Mike Vrabel at OSU.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 24, 2018
Coombs joined the Ohio State coaching staff in 2012 and has held the role of assistant coordinator of the defense while also taking on the roles as a cornerbacks coach and special teams coordinator. During his brief time in Columbus, Coombs certainly helped to shape the foundation for the Buckeyes secondary with Marshon Lattimore and Gareon Conley going on to become first-round draft picks in the 2017 NFL draft.
Coombs was actively out recruiting for the Buckeyes as recently as Monday, when he was planting flags in Texas a week after making stops to Florida and Georgia. But such is life in the coaching ranks. When a job in the NFL comes along, many college coaches will take the offer even if they have been at a great program like Ohio State. This will be the first NFL job held by Coombs and will be the first time he has taken on a coaching role outside the state of Ohio. Coombs had coached high school in Ohio from 1983 through 2006 when he made the jump to Cincinnati under Butch Jones and later joined Ohio State in 2012.
This news comes a day after Ohio State promoted Ryan Day to the role of offensive coordinator after it was reported the Titans made a push to lure Day to their coaching staff. Will any other Ohio State assistants be eyed up for a possible spot on the newly assembled Tennessee coaching staff?