In the months since taking over at Ohio State, Urban Meyer has lost a pair of cornerbacks/defensive backs coaches -- Taver Johnson, who would’ve been retained from the previous staff, to Arkansas and Bill Sheridan, hired as Johnson’s replacement, to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Two weeks after losing Sheridan to the NFL, Meyer’s hoping the third hiring’s a charm in his secondary.
According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati associate head coach/defensive backs coach is leaving that program to take over DBs at Ohio State. Bearcats head coach Butch Jones would only confirm the assistant was leaving for another opportunity that was best for him and his family.
“In respect to Kerry, the only thing I can comment on is that he has chosen to take another position,” Jones told the Enquirer. “We’re very gracious for what he has brought to the University of Cincinnati and our football program. I know it’s a family decision for him and we respect that. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him and wish him all the best. ...
“Obviously, family decisions come in and opportunities that could set him up for a lifetime. We’re very, very close. We spent a lot of time discussing it. At the end of the day, he has to make a decision he feels (is) best for him and his family.”
Coombs has been an assistant with the Bearcats since 2007. Prior to that, he spent 16 seasons as a highly-successful head coach at Cincinnati Colerain High School.