Lions hire Brayden Coombs to coach special teams

Allen Park — The Detroit Lions filled another coaching vacancy on Saturday, hiring Brayden Coombs to be the special teams coordinator. 

Coombs spent the previous 10 seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. Despite the team having the worst record in football last season, special teams was a bright spot as the units were ranked first by the analytics website Football Outsiders. 

In 2019, the Bengals ranked in the top-10 in kickoff return, field-goal percentage, punt coverage and kickoff coverage. 

During his time in Cincinnati, Coombs worked in various roles, including offensive assistant (2012), quality control (2013-15), defensive quality control (2016-17) and offensive quality control (2018). He originally joined the staff in 2009 as a coaching intern.

Prior to coaching, Coombs played wide receiver for the University of Miami from 2005-08. 

Coombs, 33, becomes the third special teams coordinator in three seasons for the Lions. In 2018, the team opened the season with Joe Marciano at the helm. He was fired midseason and replaced by John Bonamego last year. 

Detroit's special teams were decent last season, ranking eighth by Football Outsiders. The team likely will have a new punter next season with Sam Martin heading to free agency. 

With the hiring of Coombs, the Lions still have several openings on the staff to fill before heading to Mobile, Ala., to coach in the Senior Bowl. The team remains without a defensive coordinator, as well as linebackers, defensive backs and tight ends position coaches. 

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