Ohio State Football: 3 OSU legacies affected by TTUN cheating
By Ryan Stano
3, Kerry Coombs
Kerry Coombs was the defensive coordinator for the Ohio State football team up until 2021. That was until 2021 came along. He was fired following the season after the Buckeyes lost to Michigan and allowed 42 points in that game. It was a bad performance to end a season of bad performances.
Ryan Day made the decision to fire Coombs after that. Would Coombs have been spared had Michigan not cheated and won that game? It’s quite possible. There’s a shot that Coombs would have been the DC for the Buckeyes after that game because Ohio State would have made the CFP.
Instead, he was let go and is now coaching with Cincinnati. Ohio State football fans love the man that Coombs was, but that Michigan game was the final straw for him in fans’ eyes. He needed to go, and he was let go by Day. Day then hired Jim Knowles as his replacement.
Could Coombs have been fired anyway considering the defense was so bad all year in both 2020 and 2021? Possibly. The performance in the Michigan game sealed it. His death warrant was signed once the clock ticked down to zero in the Shoe that afternoon.
Big Ten Ten releases evidence tied to Michigan scandal. dark. Next
It’s a shame that Coombs didn’t get a chance to coach a fair game in that matchup. Perhaps it would have bought him another year to change things in 2022. He, Stroud, and Day, were unfairly affected by the cheating that Michigan did. Now, fans must re-think how their legacies were made.