He’s always been a great recruiter for the Ohio State football team. Now we find out whether or not Kerry Coombs is truly a great all-around defensive coach.
Kerry Coombs came back to the Ohio State football program last year after leaving to go coach in the NFL for a few years. Last year was his first year back. To say he didn’t meet expectations is a bit of an understatement, as the secondary got torched all year long.
Coombs has always been an elite recruiter. He brought players in such as Jeff Okudah, Eli Apple, Gareon Conley, and Marshon Lattimore. All of those players were first-round picks. He’s done a fantastic job of bringing elite talent into the program.
Now he’s in charge of the entire defense and has to show how good of a true on-the-field coach he is. It’s not like the Buckeyes didn’t have talent in the secondary last year. Shaun Wade was a consensus All-American. Yet they got lit up by a few different offenses.
The good news is that it’s hard for the Buckeyes to be much worse in the secondary than they were a year ago. The personnel will be about the same as it was last year, so the difference will have to be in the coaching. This year is where Coombs will make his money.
I do not think Coombs is a bad coach. Let’s get that out of the way right now. I do think he struggled last year to adjust to the style of defense Ryan Day wanted to play. Now that he’s had a year to learn, I expect him to coach better towards that three-corner one-safety look that Day likes.
If the secondary is better this year, this team could once again find themselves playing for a national title.