Report: Gophers football to reunite with C.J. Robbins as rush ends coach

Robbins previously coached at the U in 2020 and 2021, primarily working with the rush ends.

Minnesota mascot, Goldy, leads the fan in a pregame chant before the game against Colorado at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Sept. 17, 2022. | Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

The Gophers football program is expected to reunite C.J. Robbins and hire him as the team's next rush ends coach, according to a report from ESPN's Pete Thamel. Robbins previously coached for the Gophers in 2020 and 2021.

Sources: Minnesota is expected to hire Central Michigan defensive line coach C.J. Robbins as the school's new rush ends coach. Robbins coached previously at Kent and South Dakota. He was also on the staff at Minnesota for two seasons in 2020 and 2021 and is a Northwestern grad. pic.twitter.com/0RorjumzYD

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 11, 2025

Coaching rush ends will be a familiar role for Robbins, who coached that group in his previous two-year stint at the U. Robbins, who started his coaching career at Miami-Ohio, served as South Dakota's outside linebackers coach in 2022 before joining another former Gophers coach, Kenni Burns, at Kent State in 2023 as the team's rush ends coach and defensive recruiting coordinator. He spent last season as the team's special teams coordinator and linebackers coach.

Robbins was hired as the defensive line coach at Central Michigan in January.

#NewProfilePic#FireUpChips pic.twitter.com/Fqd0suY37M

— Cameron (C.J.) Robbins (@Coach_CJRobbins) January 23, 2025

An Illinois native, Robbins is a Northwestern alumn where he was a three-year starter as a defensive lineman. He went undrafted out of college but signed with the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2017.

Robbins previously worked at the U with the likes of Boye Mafe, who was a college standout and now plays for the Seattle Seahawks. Mafe had 11.5 sacks, including a career-high seven in 2021, in his two seasons under Robbins with Minnesota.