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UPDATE 2
Life comes at you fast.
Alex is the king of assistant coach hirings but I’m told that Brayden Coombs will not be the next the Packers special teams coordinator and isn’t expected to join Matt LaFleur’s staff. Neither is LaFleur’s brother, who is staying with the 49ers. https://t.co/J3f3xOxJi2
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) January 11, 2019
As you were.
UPDATE
Alex Marvez backtracked on his earlier report that Brayden Coombs is leaving to join the Packers.
I'm told Brayden Coombs to Packers speculation I Tweeted is premature so I am deleting previous post. Will update if I get anything new. Apologies and now back to your regularly scheduled Twitter
— Alex Marvez (@alexmarvez) January 11, 2019
So, maybe the Bengals are keeping him. As Marvin Lewis would say, we’ll see.
The Bengals are letting a good chunk of their assistant coaches go, but they would reportedly like to keep about half of the current staff.
Brayden Coombs was probably in the group of coaches Cincinnati wanted to keep, but it looks like he’s set to join the Packers as their new special teams coordinator, according to NFL reporter Alex Marvez:
I'm told to expect Brayden Coombs will leave @bengals to become new @packers special teams coordinator replacing Ron Zook. GB interest in Coombs first reported elsewhere Thursday
— Alex Marvez (@alexmarvez) January 11, 2019
Ian Rapoport adds that Coombs is “one of the bright, rising coaches in the business.”
At just 32 years of age, Coombs joined the Bengals’ staff as a coaching intern in 2009. Prior to coming to Cincinnati, he played college ball nearby at Miami University.
Coombs just completed his seventh season in Cincinnati, as he was the assistant special teams coach and an offensive quality control coach.
Per the team’s official website, Coombs assisted with weekly game planning and preparation, and he had full charge of selected special teams meetings and practice periods. He also worked as an assistant coach on offense, helping to implement offensive coordinator Bill Lazor’s new system.
It’s worth pointing out that the Bengals ranked 7th in special teams DVOA this past season. while the Packers were 28th. It’s hard to know how much of that was the impact Coombs had vs. the actual special teams coordinator in Simmons, but it’s clear Green Bay thought the former played a big hand in it.
One would assume this news means Simmons is returning as the Bengals’ special teams coordinator. Had he been let go, Coombs would have been a strong candidate to replace him.