Kerry Coombs discusses his whirlwind first weeks at Michigan, how he’ll fix the Wolverines’ special teams

MichiganfootballintroducedKerryCoombsasitsnewspecialteamscoordinatoronDec.6,2025.Fourdayslater,MichiganAthleticsfiredtheheadcoachwhohadhiredCoombs,sendingtheprogramintoamulti-weekstateofdisarray. Nearlytwomonthslater,CoombsremainsinAnnArbor,nominallyoneofthreeholdovercoachesfromtheSherroneMooreadministrationalongsideTonyAlfordandLouEsposito.The64-year-old,whohasdecadesofexperienceatthehighschool,collegiateandNFLlevels,istaskedwithfixingaphaseinwhichtheWolverinesstruggledlastfall. In2025,U-Mfinishedtheregular seasonranked126thnationallyinpuntreturnyardspergame,withoutasinglereturnof20-plusyards.Theywere 125thof136FBSprogramsinaveragekickoffreturnyardageandhadonlyone returnof30-plusin2025.U-Mwasalsobelowaverageinfieldgoalpercentage(108thnationally)andaveragepuntdistance (75thnationally).FPI, apredictiveratingsystemdevelopedbyESPN,rankedMichigan’sspecialteams117thnationa