Hot Board: The search for Hafley's replacement at Ohio State
CHRIS ASH
The name being mentioned most by fans thus far is former Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Chris Ash.
Ash, 45, was Rutgers' head coach from 2016 until he was fired earlier this season.
While Ash could not win at Rutgers, he was a big part of the Buckeyes' success during his time in Columbus, including helping OSU win the 2014 national championship.
Ash came to OSU from Arkansas, where he was defensive coordinator/DB coach in 2013.
Ash was Wisconsin's DC/DB coach from 2011-12.
If Day wants to find someone with a thick background in the college game, Ash might be the leading coach. However, we have heard that Day will also be very interested in scouring the NFL for the best secondary coach he can find there, so we will see how it pans out.
JOHN BUTLER
John Butler, 46, is the defensive backs coach of the Buffalo Bills. He is a native of Philadelphia and has extensive experience at the collegiate level.
He was Minnesota's special teams coach and linebackers coach from 2007-10. He then moved on to South Carolina to fulfill the same duties in 2011.
In 2012, Butler was Penn State's defensive backs coach. In 2013, he was promoted to defensive coordinator/DB coach for the Nittany Lions.
In 2014, Butler followed Bill O'Brien to the Houston Texans, where he was defensive backs coach until 2017. He has been the Bills' DB coach for the last two seasons.
KERRY COOMBS
Would Kerry Coombs, 57, be willing to leave the NFL to return to Ohio State? Perhaps, if he was given play-calling responsibilities and a nice pay bump.
The energetic Coombs was the Buckeyes' DB coach from 2012-17, where he was quite the fan favorite. He is very happy with the Titans, but he might want the opportunity to call a defense (along with current OSU DC Greg Mattison).
Coombs is an Ohio guy (longtime head coach at Cincinnati Colerain, then the DB coach for the Cincinnati Bearcats) and did an excellent job during his time at Ohio State, so he is without question an intriguing possibility.
COREY RAYMOND
Corey Raymond, 50, is LSU's defensive backs coach, a position he has held since 2012. He is also the Tigers' assistant head coach.
Raymond was also a player for LSU, so it is difficult to imagine him leaving Baton Rouge. However, if he wants to be a play-caller, this could be his opportunity if Day is interested, and Ohio State backs up the Brinks truck.
That being said, I bet Raymond will stay at LSU.
CORY UNDLIN
Cory Undlin, 48, is the defensive backs coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. He has held that job for five seasons, and he was on the Eagles' staff with Day in 2015.
Undlin is a native of St. Cloud, Minnesota, and played college football at Cal Lutheran (safety from 1990-94). He also began his coaching career at Cal Lutheran (LB coach 1998-99, defensive coordinator 2000-01).
Undlin was then a graduate assistant at Fresno State from 2002-03, and has been in the NFL ever since. He entered the NFL as a defensive coaching assistant with the New England Patriots in 2004.
Undlin then spent the next four seasons with the Cleveland Browns. He was defensive quality control coach from 2005-06, assistant special teams coach in 2007, and defensive backs coach in 2008.
Undlin then spent the next three seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars, including 2009 as a defensive assistant, and 2010-11 as DB coach.
In 2012, he was the Denver Broncos defensive quality control coach. He was then promoted to defensive backs coach for the Broncos, a post he held from 2013-14.
Undlin sure seems to check a lot of boxes, doesn't he? I think he is certainly a name to keep an eye on here.
JIM O'NEIL
Jim O'Neil, 41, is the Oakland Raiders defensive backs coach, and has built an extensive resume despite his relatively young age.
In 2016, O'Neil was the defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers. Guess who was the Niners quarterbacks coach that season? Ryan Day. (Hafley was the DB coach.)
From 2014-15, O'Neil was the Cleveland Browns' defensive coordinator.
O'Neil began his coaching career in the Big Ten at Northwestern (GA/DB coach from 2003-04).
He was the defensive coordinator/DB coach at Towson in 2005.
From 2006-08, he served as the recruiting coordinator/DB coach at Eastern Michigan.
O'Neil then moved to the NFL in 2009 as quality control coach (DB) for the New York Jets. Then from 2010-12, he was the Jets' assistant DB coach.
In 2013, O'Neil was the linebackers coach of the Buffalo Bills.
O'Neil is also a native of Philadelphia. Add it all up and this could be a very attractive candidate for Day to target.
FRAN BROWN
Fran Brown, 37, was recently hired by Greg Schiano as Rutgers' DB coach. He spent the 2019 season as the co-defensive coordinator at Temple.
From 2017-18, Brown was the assistant head coach/DB coach at Baylor.
In 2016, he was Temple's assistant head coach/DB coach.
From 2013-15, he was the DB coach at Temple (was a GA there in 2012).
Brown played cornerback at Western Carolina from 2003-06, and for the Cincinnati Bengals for parts of 2007-08.
CHRIS HEWITT
Chris Hewitt, 45, is the Baltimore Ravens' defensive backs coach, a post he has held since 2012.
Hewett played defensive back for the Cincinnati Bearcats, and then for the New Orleans Saints from 1997-99.
Hewitt was Notre Dame's assistant strength and conditioning coach in 2003.
Then he spent eight seasons (2004-11) on Schiano's staff at Rutgers as running backs/cornerbacks coach.
Hewitt obviously has a great gig coaching for the current favorites to win the Super Bowl. However, like has been said about others on this list, if he wants a chance to call a defense -- or at least help call the defense along with Mattison -- he might be interested. Also, Ohio State could likely provide a pay raise for him, which is another thing that could be said for many on this list.
JOE WOODS
Joe Woods, 49, is another coach with an impressive resume on the collegiate and especially the NFL level. He is currently the defensive backs coach/passing game coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers. That means he is the man who replaced Hafley in San Fran. Could he replace him again? We shall see.
Woods is a Pennsylvania native and played defensive back at Illinois State (1988-91). He started his coaching career in the state of Ohio at Muskingum in 1992 as DB coach.
In 1993, he was the DB coach at Northwestern State. He held the same post at Grand Valley State from 1994-96.
In 1997, Woods returned to the state of Ohio as DB coach at Kent State.
Then from 1998-2000, Woods was the DB coach at Hofstra. He moved on to Western Michigan as DB coach from 2001-03.
Woods then became DB coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2004-05. From 2006-13, he was the DB coach of the Minnesota Vikings.
In 2014, Woods was the Oakland Raiders' DB coach. He quickly moved on to the Denver Broncos in 2015 as DB coach, a post he held for two seasons.
Woods was then promoted to defensive coordinator of the Broncos, and spent two years in that role (2017-18).
MARCUS FREEMAN
Now, some might say that Marcus Freeman, 33, would not be a good fit because he does not have experience as a secondary coach. And I would be one of those people.
However, to play devil's advocate with my own logic, football is replete with coaches who have coached different positions, even some who have moved from one side of the ball to the other. Freeman is Cincinnati's defensive coordinator, a post he has held since 2017 under Luke Fickell. Since Freeman is calling the defense for the Bearcats, he certainly is well versed in coaching up a secondary, even though he doesn't have a previous background as a DB coach.
Freeman of course was a linebacker for Ohio State from 2004-08 (redshirted in 2005 due to an injury). He also began his coaching career at OSU as a grad assistant in 2010.
From 2011-12, Freeman was Kent State's linebackers coach. Then from 2013-16, he was the LB coach at Purdue.
Freeman is a rising star in the coaching profession, but again, I don't see the fit at OSU at the present time. I think Day is going to target guys with deep experience in coaching DBs.
TIM WALTON
Speaking of former Ohio State players, could Tim Walton be up for serious consideration?
Walton, 48, was a defensive back for the Buckeyes, and is currently the defensive backs coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Walton is another name with an extensive resume, and some of his notable stops included:
* DB coach of the New York Giants 2015-18.
* Defensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams in 2013.
* DB coach of the Detroit Lions from 2009-12.
* Defensive coordinator at Memphis in 2008.
* Defensive coordinator at Miami (Fla.) in 2007.
I doubt Walton is on Day's short list, but I could be wrong. He is a former Buckeye with a ton of quality experience.
KRIS RICHARD
Kris Richard, 40, is the defensive backs coach/passing game coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, a post he has held since 2018.
From 2015-17, Richard was the defensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks.
Richard came to the Seahawks in 2010 as assistant DB coach. He was elevated to cornerbacks coach in 2011, and then promoted to DB coach in 2012.
Richard was a cornerback at USC and played six seasons in the NFL (2002-07). He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at USC.
He is an attrative candidate for sure. But would he be interested in leaving the NFL? He also has zero roots in the Midwest. There is a reason is he mentioned so far down on this list.
Entire article:
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-...lacement-at-Ohio-State-140516457/#140516457_1
The #1 question is: Would Ash accept the job?
The #2 question: Can we steal Don Brown from scUM?......
