Cincinnati Bearcats lose another assistant to SEC as running backs coach departs

In less than two months, Scott Satterfield's Cincinnati Bearcats have lost three staffers to new jobs. The most recent is running backs coach De'Rail Sims leaving for the same job with the Tennessee Volunteers.

Before that, chief of staff Mark Speir left for a similar position at Appalachian State and defensive coordinator Bryan Brown departed for his alma mater, Ole Miss.

The Bearcats hired Tyson Veidt to replace Brown at the end of January, now they need to find a coach for a running back room that finished fifth in the country among NCAA FBS schools averaging 217.1 yards per game.

De'Rail Sims off to Knoxville

Like Bryan Brown, Sims had come to Cincinnati from Louisville as part of Satterfield's first staff. He's replacing Jerry Mack at Tennessee who left for the NFL Jacksonville Jaguars. The Vols were ninth in the nation in rushing, with UC at No. 5. Under Sims, Corey Kiner became the 20th 1,000-yard rusher in UC history with 1,047 yards. UC gained 200 yards or more in nine of their 12 games and the trio of Kiner, Ryan Montgomery and Myles Montgomery averaged 5.8 yards per carry.

Cincinnati had just gotten a commit from four-star running back Zion Johnson from Georgia and Tennessee was among his offers.

Spitballing names for a replacement

Brian Haines, Appalachian State

Haines has been running backs coach/special teams coordinator at Appalachian State since 2020 when Shaun Clark took over. The Mountaineers had nine wins last season and won the Cure Bowl. He's a 2021 Broyles Award nominee for the nation's best assistant. Haines was on Appalachian State coaching staffs with current UC coaches Nic Cardwell and Cort Braswell.

Why Haines? He'd be familiar with the zone running style system and philosophy. He's also from Ohio and was on Ohio University's staff for a pair of Mid-American Conference-East titles, nine bowls and five bowl wins.

Stu Holt, Virginia Tech

Holit is tight ends coach/special teams with the Hokies, but coached Virginia Tech running backs in 2022. Before Virginia Tech, he was with Satterfield's staff in Louisville between 2020-2021 and was with him at Appalachian State from 2015-2018 as running backs/special teams coach. He's also had coaching stints at USF and Western Kentucky.

Why Holt? Again, he's familiar with the running schemes and Satterfield. He was also with current UC offensive coordinator Brad Glenn in 2022 at Virginia Tech.

Norval McKenzie, Georgia Tech

McKenzie came to the Yellowjackets this past season after two seasons at Vanderbilt. Georgia Tech averaged 203.8 yards rushing and had a 1,000-plus yard rusher in Jamal Haynes (1,092). The Yellowjackets went 7-6 including a bowl win over UCF. Prior to Vandy, McKenzie was Satterfield's running backs coach at Louisville for two seasons in 2019-2020. He's also coached the backfield at Arkansas State and Furman.

Why McKenzie? From his years with Satterfield in Louisville and lifetime experience coaching running backs, he would know the system and philosophy.

Why not? McKenzie is a veteran from Atlanta and may not want to move. And, he could be pricier in comparison to Sims.

Nate Cole, Toledo

The running backs coach for the Rockets led them to an average of 198.4 per game on the ground with Peny Boone running for 1,400 in 13 games. Toledo was 11-3 under Jason Candle. Cole is a former offensive lineman and the Rockets have been a running threat since he's been there. He's also been a top recruiter. Cole has been running backs coach since 2019 and with the Toledo staff since 2016.

Why Cole? While not particularly from the Satterfield tree, he's an accomplished coach and he is from Dayton, so this would be closer to home, plus he would have knowledge on recruiting Ohio. For what it's worth, Satterfield was at Toledo in 2009 and has had an affinity for coaches from that program.

Why not? He hasn't had direct experience with Satterfield and seems entrenched in Toledo.

Larry Dace III, current UC quality control

Dace was a grad assistant working with UC running backs last season. He had a similar role with Satterfield at Louisville in 2022 as the Cardinals had the second-best rushing attack in the ACC. Before Louisville he was at Tulane, his alma mater, working with wide receivers and the recruiting department.

Why Dace? Obviously familiarity with returning running backs and those recent to the program.

Why not? No previous experience as a full-fledged running backs coach, though Satterfield has moved coaches up through the ranks before.

Jeremy Larkin, Youngstown State

This would be the one that got away as former UC coach Tommy Tuberville tried to recruit him out of La Salle High School, but lost him to Northwestern. Larkin's playing career was halted at Northwestern but he jumped into coaching and has had some success. He served as a defensive grad assistant for Pat FItzgerald then joined Marcus Freeman's Notre Dame staff as a defensive analyst.

Larkin was hired by former UC assistant under Luke Fickell, Doug Phillips at Youngstown State and returned to offense as running backs coach, The Penguins made the FCS playoffs for the first time in seven years. Youngstown State's Tyshon King ran for over 1,000 yards.

Why Larkin? A hometown hero and someone not that far removed from the game as a player.

Why not? Youngstown State gives him one year as a running backs coach, plus he hasn't had direct experience in a Satterfield-type offense.

Trent McKnight, Georgia State

McKnight is currently the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Georgia State and this would be somewhat of a wildcard. Shawn Elliott, a former Satterfield assistant, was the Georgia State head coach but left to take a tight ends/run-game coordinator job at South Carolina, where he once served as interim head coach. He had led Georgia State since 2017 and had early experience coaching with Satterfield at Appalachian State.

Though McKnight hasn't had direct running back oversight, his Georgia State offenses mimicked what Elliott and Satterfield have done. They averaged 188.1 yards rushing last season and Marcus Carroll had 1,350 yards on the ground. In 2022, they were one of 18 teams averaging 200 yards rushing and 200 yards passing, something that's been the norm for Satterfield teams.

Why McKnight? Georgia State football appears up in the air and he may need the work. The offensive philosophy appears to be a check.

Why not? It would probably require another coach to flip positions or McKnight to flip positions.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bearcats lose assistant coach to Tennessee Volunteers