One former Auburn defensive back and assistant coach continues his climb up the coaching ladder, this time by landing an NFL job.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reported Sunday that former Auburn defensive back Zac Etheridge has joined the Arizona Cardinals’ coaching staff as the cornerbacks coach after serving as the defensive pass game coordinator and cornerbacks coach for the Miami Hurricanes.
Advertisement
Etheridge played a role in Miami’s climb to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, as the Hurricanes’ defense ranked No. 5 nationally in points allowed per game (14.0), and No. 12 in interceptions (16). Miami also ranked No. 7 nationally by returning three interceptions for touchdowns. Miami cornerbacks were also responsible for breaking up 21 of the defense’s 44 broken passes.
This marks Etheridge’s first NFL job after spending the last 13 seasons as a college football assistant. He served as a graduate assistant at both Penn State and Georgia Tech before taking his first on-field coaching role at Western Carolina, where he coached defensive backs and outside linebackers. He then coached defensive backs at Louisiana and Houston between 2018 and 2020 before accepting the associate head coach and secondary coaching position at Auburn during the Bryan Harsin era, and the first season of the Hugh Freeze era from 2021-23. Following his stay in Auburn, he returned to Houston to coach defensive backs under head coach Willie Fritz.
Etheridge joins the new staff built by the new Cardinals’ head coach, Matt LaFleur, who became Arizona’s head coach on Feb. 1 after serving as offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams.
Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__
This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Arizona Cardinals hire former Auburn star, coach Zac Etheridge
