Ohio State Football: What new hires mean for Coombs, Washington

The Ohio State football program is not done making coaching adjustments. There have already been quite a few, and it looks like Ryan Day wants a complete overhaul of the defensive staff. It looks like only one major coach is going to be retained from last year.

That coach is Larry Johnson, who still might decide to retire. Day made two new hires today on defense. He hired former Jaguars assistant coach Tim Walton to coach the secondary. He is a former Buckeye player from the 90s who is well-respected among coaches.

Ohio State also hired Cincinnati cornerbacks coach Perry Eliano to coach the safeties. That means the Buckeyes have hired two assistant coaches to handle the secondary now. That means that Kerry Coombs’ time with the program seems to have come to an end.

Coombs’ departure is sad, but not unexpected his tenure as defensive coordinator was disastrous, and changes needed to be made. It seems as though he is not the only defensive coach to be pushed out following this rash of hires, however.

It also seems likely that Al Washington will not return as linebackers coach. Jim Knowles will be coaching the linebackers next season in addition to coordinating the defense. That means Day made wholesale changes on defense after a disastrous season on that side of the ball.

These are the type of changes that needed to be made. Ryan Day knows that the Ohio State football program is an elite program, and 2021 was unacceptable. I give him all the credit in the world for making these changes and not just sitting pat.

I wonder how these changes will lead to improvements for the Buckeyes. The start of the season isn’t until September, but these changes have me hyped to see what this team can do on the field.