Cincinnati assistant Kerry Coombs opens up as he prepares Bearcats for Fenway Bowl

Newly hired University of Cincinnati football coach Scott Satterfield announced Friday that he is retaining Kerry Coombs on his staff as the secondary coach and special teams coordinator.

Coombs signed a new three-year deal.

Satterfield said previously that he wants to bring in assistants who already have ties to and relationships within the city of Cincinnati. Satterfield said he wants coaches who can infiltrate the halls of area high schools, find top recruits and get those recruits to buy into the Bearcats' program.

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There's no assistant on Cincinnati's staff with more local ties than Coombs.

The 61-year-old Colerain Township native and former longtime Colerain High School head coach, served as cornerbacks coach and special teams coordinator this season under former UC coach Luke Fickell. Coombs will lead Cincinnati (9-3) against Louisville (7-5) – Satterfield's former team – in the inaugural Fenway Bowl on Dec. 17 at Fenway Park in Boston.

Coombs on Thursday took a break from his bowl preparations to speak to the media for the first time since Fickell left Cincinnati on Nov. 27 to take over the program at Wisconsin. Coombs, who previously served as an assistant at UC from 2007-11, was asked then if he would be staying at Cincinnati with Satterfield. Coombs declined to answer the question directly, choosing instead to put the spotlight less on him and more on the UC players.

Kerry Coombs wants the focus to be on the players

"We're just going to talk about the kids," he said. "We're not talking about Coach Coombs and his future. We're talking about the players. Because, I got hit (text messages) from a bunch of alumni kids that I coached the first time around, and it was really neat. Because those guys all went through it. The Haruki Nakamuras, the Austen Bujnochs, Travis Kelce. they all say the same thing. Coach, what I remember is this: It's about the team. And the team at the University of Cincinnati over the last 15 years has been incredibly resilient, through coaching changes. What the constant has been, is that they show up every Saturday in that stadium or wherever they are, and they play really hard. They play for each other. They play for this town. They play for the city. They play for that 300-mile radius. They do all of those things. It’s really about the team.

"We reminded them that the very first day and we remind them of that every single day. It really matters not who sits in the hallway. I don't mean this as slight to Luke (Fickell) or Coach Satterfield or Brian Kelly or Mark Dantonio or Butch Jones or anybody else. It matters less who sits at the end of the hall than who sits in that locker room. Those kids, that team, that has been the mantra, and they believe it because it's true. When you hear from those former players, and they remind you of that, and the pride that they have in the team, it's really been cool. So that's what this is all about. It really is. It's about those kids, and it should be, right? They've earned it. They won the games. They earned a bowl trip. It should be about the kids. And so that's where our focus is."

Coombs said he had spoken with Satterfield. He said those conversations were "good" and "positive." Coombs said Satterfield "seems like a nice, genuine, sincere person."

"I really like him," he said. "He's a very nice guy. I have not had the good fortune or misfortune of coaching against him at any point in my career. So watching him do his business and getting this thing going, directly toward the Big 12, he's doing a really good job. He's got a different job right now than I do. I'm a little bit scattered."

Some UC players passing on Fenway Bowl for the transfer portal

Coombs' roster of available players for the Fenway Bowl is also scattered. While 2022 first-team All-American Athletic Conference tight end Josh Whyle has opted out of the Fenway Bowl to focus on preparing for the 2023 NFL Draft, nine of Whyle's Cincinnati teammates have entered the transfer portal, including 2022 first-team All-American Athletic Conference cornerback Ja'Quan Sheppard. Coombs said he's proud of the players who have stayed engaged and are committed to the bowl game and beyond.

“First of all, the right kind of kids have been recruited here," he said. "We found good kids from good homes. We found kids from good high school programs. We found kids who care about their teammates, and I give them a lot of credit for that. We have great leadership. These senior kids, they want to go out on top. They have a lot of pride and they're showing it. Things happen in life. Sunday (the day Fickell announced he was leaving), we were as low as you can be. We were at the bottom. By Thursday, we started to come out. But by the time we hit the field, we were here.

"... We get to live a different life than almost anybody in the world. Our life has these ups and downs, right? ... You have to sometimes have some of those (downs or lows) to appreciate the highs. They have come out of it. They're working their way up there so that hopefully by Dec. 17, we find ourselves on top of the mountain."

Cincinnati and Louisville will be on the same sideline during the Fenway Bowl. The football field will be situated with one end zone along the third-base line of Fenway Park and the other in right field. The sideline will be in center and left fields. Coombs said he's looking forward to leading the Bearcats into Fenway, a ballpark he has fond memories of from afar.

Fenway Park brings back memories for Kerry Coombs

"It's 1975, I'm a young kid, right? I was 14 years old, watching Carlton Fisk do this, right? Because my Big Red Machine, and I remember that explicitly," said Coombs, remembering the 1975 World Series between the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox (Cincinnati won the series in seven games). I remember the couch I was sitting on and watching that play. I've never been to Fenway Park, never seen obviously a baseball game there. I’ve seen it on TV. I think it's really cool. I think we're all pretty excited about that. I think the kids are looking forward to that part of the trip. It’s going to be interesting, two teams on the same sideline makes me nervous as all get out, but we're going to handle it."

Sources confirmed to The Enquirer on Tuesday that Cincinnati defensive coordinator Mike Tressel, UC co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Colin Hitschler and Bearcats wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator Mike Brown will all switch sidelines and join Fickell at Wisconsin. UC recruiting directors Pat Lambert and Maximus Stienecker will also join Fickell's Badgers staff.

None of the three assistant coaches who will be joining Fickell at Wisconsin will be on the sideline for Cincinnati for the Fenway Bowl. Offensive coordinator Gino Guidugli, whose status for next season remains up in the air, will also not coach in the bowl game.

Guidugli, who could also join Fickell at Wisconsin, is a candidate for the head coaching vacancy at Western Michigan. He was also a candidate for the offensive coordinator role at Kentucky. The Wildcats will ultimately hire Rams offensive coordinator Liam Coen, according to reports.

Coombs said his focus remains only on the people who are still at Cincinnati. He said he harbors no hard feelings toward Fickell, his longtime coaching colleague and friend.

"I love Luke," he said. "Luke and I have been friends for a lot longer than the 10 months that we worked together this time around. I love what Luke did for our town. I love what he did for our city. I love what he did for the school. I love the way he coaches. I love the way he conducts himself and I don't have anything but incredibly fond thoughts. We talk every day; he still cares deeply about these players and wants them to have a great experience. We're in constant communication. He's eager to see these guys play their best and have the best opportunity. I've learned from him this year, and that's been a benefit. I've been really excited to work with him. I think wherever Luke Fickell is, you're always going to find a really tough team that competes and plays really, really hard. That's what the game of football should be all about. I think Wisconsin is lucky to have him. I'm sad that we don't get to go to coach together here in 10 days. I told him he could coach the punting. Yes, he's a little busy, but I think he probably would do it. We’re talking every day and that's a really good thing."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati football: Coombs to lead UC vs. Louisville in Fenway Bowl