There has been some upheaval in Ann Arbor with offensive coordinator Jason Beck, the highest-paid coach at his position, finding himself on the chopping block after just nine games with Michigan football. And while there have been celebrations from the fans and applause from the discerning media, it hits close to home for people inside Schembechler Hall.
Michigan special teams coordinator Kerry Coombs knows what it's like to find himself without a job, although his ousting as the defensive coordinator at Ohio State came after the 2021 season. And while he didn't defend Beck being let go on merit, he did empathize with what he's going through as a coach who now no longer has a job. Because he's more than simply an X's and O's guy -- he's a man
with a family, as Coombs notes.
"Yeah, that's hard," Coombs said. "I mean, that's, it's becoming a much more prevalent part of our profession as we all know. And it's very challenging.
"He is a good man. He's a good dad. His kids would come out, and after practice, I'm out there with Salesi and Andrew Marsh catching punts, and they would come out and catch punts. And you know, it's just, it's hard, and he's a good coach.
"And so in our profession, those are your friends. You know, we tell my wife all the time, I don't have a lot of friends, right? I don't have time for a lot of friends. My friends are in this building. Those players and those coaches, I mean, that's our life.
"And so I have great respect for him. In a 10-month period or however many months it has been, I've grown to really respect him and like him. And so that's hard. I mean, that's challenging. So I'm not going to tell you that it's easy because it's not."
That said, having coached in the NFL and at Ohio State, Coombs understands the nature of high-pressure jobs like being at Michigan. Still, he doesn't look at it as a bad thing that certain places have higher expectations. In fact, he embraces Ann Arbor for all that comes with it.
"First of all, you want to be at the top of your profession in any job that you have, whatever it is that you choose to do," Coombs said. "You want to be at the best places. This is one of the best places. And you understand that when you accept that role, and you accept that responsibility, what comes with it. And expectations here are high, and they should be. And we shouldn't run from that. We should embrace it. And I think we do.
"And I think we're all frustrated. And so I get all of that. I've been in, there's two of the probably higher-pressure places in the world to work. And at the same time, I don't think you feel that. I just want you to know, I don't walk around with a burden of pressure. I love our kids, and we want to go play. And so, but you understand the responsibility that comes with coaching at a place like this, which the benefits are tremendous, right? And so I'm thrilled to be here, and I'm glad that it's important to so many people."
Coombs' unit has been intermittent, if not outright dismal at times. Michigan has the No. 127 special teams unit in the country, out of 138 teams, according to ESPN's SP+ rankings.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan football's Kerry Coombs reacts to Jason Beck firing
