The 2025 season will be the sixth for Matt Coombs in Davis, having served as defensive coordinator since joining the Aggies staff in 2019.
During the 2024 season, the Aggie defense was a force and produced big moments and individual accolades. Rex Connors and David Meyer both earned multiple All-American honors, with Meyer being named a Buck Buchanan Award finalist.
Meyer and Connors also went toe-to-toe all year in the record book with Meyer setting the single season record in solo tackles, before being passed by Connors who finished one better at 74. As a team, the Aggies scored three defensive touchdowns and had big stops to win games at Eastern Washington and against No. 5 Idaho.
The 2007 Yale graduate most recently served as a defensive analyst at Oregon during the 2019 season.
Overall, Coombs helped his Bellevue High School team to back-to-back Washington state championships, boosted Yale to the 2006 Ivy League title, captured two more state crowns for Bellevue High as a coach, then took part in the 2017 Mountain West Conference and 2019 Pac-12 Conference championships for Boise State and Oregon, respectively.
"Just like in recruiting, it's all about fit," said Hawkins. "He went to Yale, so he understands education and that component. He's used to winning, so he expects to win and knows how to win. He has worked in a similar defensive structure that we run, so he can take that and add and polish and put his spin on it."
In his most recent position, Coombs worked under UO defensive coordinator Andy Avalos, helping the Ducks assemble a 12-2 overall record, a resounding 37-15 victory over Utah in the Pac-12 championship game, a 28-27 defeat of Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl, plus No. 5 final rankings in the Associated Press and USA Today polls. Oregon also ranked ninth nationally in scoring defense and eighth in turnovers gain among FBS leaders last fall.
Prior to his arrival at Oregon, Coombs served as a defensive quality control for two seasons at Boise State while completing his master's degree in athletic leadership. After helping the Broncos to the 2017 Mountain West crown, he was elevated to defensive special assistant for the 2018 season. Coombs largely worked with the BSU secondary coaches in improving the team's third-down defense from 59th in to ninth, and red-zone defense from 120th to 51st. The Broncos went 10-3 overall and captured a share of the Mountain Division title in 2018.
Coombs' playing career began as a defensive back and running back at Bellevue High, where he garnered Seattle Times 3A State Player of the Year in 2002. He went on to play defensive back at Yale from 2004-07, helping the Bulldogs to the Ivy League championship in 2006 then claiming the program's Special Teams Player of the Year award as a senior.
"When we talk about 'Davis Guys,' people ask what we mean by that," said Hawkins. "But he gets it. He gets the well-roundedness of it. That's important here, and it's important to have coaches who relate and identify with our players and their goals and aspirations. That includes playing championship football, but it might also include studying plant biology in Borneo. Having a guy who gets that is important here. He's just a really good fit."
Coombs completed his bachelor's degree in history from Yale in 2007. His coaching career began at his high school alma mater, for which he served as a linebackers coach and defensive coordinator before getting that first collegiate coaching opportunity at Boise State in 2016.
