Detroit Lions hire special teams coordinator Brayden Coombs

The Detroit Lions have filled one of their big coaching vacancies just a week before they head down to Mobile for the Senior Bowl. The team announced on Saturday that they’ve hired Brayden Coombs as their next special teams coordinator.

Coombs comes from the Cincinnati Bengals, where he served as team’s assistant special teams coach for the past seven years. In addition to that role, Coombs also concurrently served as a quality control coach (2013-15), defensive quality control coach (2016-17) and offensive quality control (2018).

The Bengals have had a decent special teams unit under Coombs and their current special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons (who received an extension with Cincinnati earlier this week). Here’s how they have ranked in the past five years according to Football Outsiders’ DVOA:

2019: 1st
2018: 7th
2017: 21st
2016: 28th
2015: 8th

Coombs will take over for two-time Lions special teams coordinator John Bonamego, who was let go after just one season with the Lions. Though the Lions fixed their penalty issues early in the season, their coverage units struggled in the second half of the season.