Gophers coach P.J. Fleck hired former Kent State head coach Paul Haynes as Minnesota's new cornerbacks coach, the team announced Monday.
Haynes, who has 25 years of coaching experience, replaces Rod Chance, who left the Gophers earlier this month to become Oregon's cornerbacks coach. Fleck and Haynes first worked together in 2006 when Haynes was on staff and Fleck was a graduate assistant for the Buckeyes. Haynes left Ohio State five years later and stopped at Arkansas before spending five seasons at Kent State's coach.
He's spent the past two years as the defensive backs coach at Michigan State. He inherits a deep cornerbacks room, including All-Big Ten honorable mentions Benjamin St-Juste and Coney Durr.
Also, a source confirmed two Gophers players have medically retired. Wide receivers Erik Gibson and Jornell Brooks II just finished their redshirt freshman seasons. Neither played a game for the Gophers. They were three-star recruits from the 2018 class.
