One Assistant Coach is Quietly Reshaping Michigan Football

Michigan football had a lot of issues a season ago. When the margin of error is so thin, a team cannot afford to lose games, which is why this assistant coach has been a godsend in his short time in Ann ARbor.

Michigan special teams coordinator Kerry Coombs looks on before the spring game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, April 18, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Special teams used to be a given at Michigan. Jim Harbaugh’s attention to detail was something that always gave him a leg up in the third phase of the game.

Following the 2023 season, however, Harbaugh left for the NFL. His son Jay, who was a big part of coaching the special teams also made his way to the NFL.

JB Brown took over for Harbaugh when he left for the NFL to coach the special teams under Sherrone Moore.

The 2024 season was a solid one thanks in large part to kicker Dominic Zvada asserting himself as a legitimate weapon in the kicking game. Zvada’s shining moment came in an upset win over Ohio State in November of 2024 where he made two field goals, including the game-winner with under a minute to play.

The Downfall

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Zvada returned for his senior season and it felt like Michigan was going to have a weapon in the kicking game.

Instead, Zvada was a mess and the whole special teams unit cratered around him. Andrew Marsh struggled as a kickoff returner early in the season, including losing a fumble in the season opener.

Semaj Morgan was a mess as a punt returner, but never removed from the role until after he lost a fumble late in the season against Northwestern.

The kicking game was a mess as well, and ultimately it led to Brown being let go at the end of the season by Moore.

Before Moore was let go, he hired Kerry Coombs who had a lot of experience, but also recently coached at Ohio State. The hire was not met with a lot of fanfare as a result, but Coombs proved his mettle by having his team prepared for the bowl game against Texas.

Coverage units looked more disciplined. The operations were cleaner. If nothing else, they secured the catch and took care of the ball.

Baseline competence eluded Michigan’s special teams in 2025, and that is looking to carry over to 2026.

Coombs went to work on the recruiting trail to ensure his side of the ball had enough talent to sustain itself through the season.

The biggest addition via the transfer portal was Trey Butkowski, who was recently nominated for the Lou Groza Award to help stabilize the team at kicker.

“We got a guy who was 21-23 at Pitt in one of the hardest stadiums in the country to kick in the wind blows there at all time,” Coombs said. “I’ve learned we get some wind here too. A lot of wind and a lot of tough situations and kicked really well in that environment and I’m excited about Trey and what he will add to our team.”

Kicker is not the only spot where Michigan has tried to find upgrades. They’ve added a new punter, and recently saw their long snapper added to Bruce Feldman’s annual “Feldman’s Freaks” list.

With the margin for error as small as it was a season ago, Michigan could not afford the mistakes they continued to make on special teams. That is something that Coombs is looking to fix, while also making them more dynamic in the return game.

“The first thing you want to do in every return unit is secure the kick, our job is secure the kick and be penalty free,” Coombs said. “So we gotta catch the ball so that’s where it begins. We gotta catch the ball and we gotta be confident fielding both punts and kickoffs. We’re looking for guys that can make a guy miss in the punt return game, who is a dynamic athlete in space who can make things happen. In the kickoff return game typically those guys for us have been a bigger guy who can not only make a guy miss and more often than not run through smoke which more often than not running backs and bigger receivers have a tendency to do that in practice.”

The Devil is In the Details

Special teams is about attention to detail. It’s also a showcase for the depth of the roster. That’s a good place for younger players to develop in the event they’re pressed into duty on offense or defense.

Michigan did not have the development or baseline competence at special teams a year ago. That’s not something that gets a lot of attention thanks to all the noise surrounding the drama-filled ending to the 2025 season, but it matters.

Special teams has cost Michigan in big spots before. It nearly did in their national championship season in 2023.

Coombs said he is looking for his team to be the best in the country.

Attention to detail matters when a team is trying to win at the highest level. That’s why its paramount that this phase of the game gets drastically better in 2026.

After the first week of fall camp, #Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham spoke to the media for the first time.

O-line battles are taking place, one WR is 'unguardable', and other interesting tidbits came from Whittingham's presser.

STORY: https://t.co/Xzwmc1WDpO pic.twitter.com/BbY7nDxzQP

— Trent Knoop (@TrentKnoop) August 10, 2026