Feb. 13, 2026, 7:00 p.m. ET
Zac Etheridge made an immediate impact for the Miami Hurricanes, turning their secondary from a weakness into a strength in 2025, in what will be his only season with the program. His great work caught the attention of the Arizona Cardinals, who are hiring him as their next cornerbacks coach, according to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports.
Miami’s defensive backs improved drastically from 2024 to 2025 and were a key part of the defense that helped them reach the national championship game. Defensive backs Jakobe Thomas and Keionte Scott both had the best years of their careers after working under Etheridge.
Etheridge spent the 2024 season with the Houston Cougars, serving as their defensive backs coach before joining Miami’s coaching staff. That was his second stint with them after he coached the defensive backs from 2019-20. He was with the Auburn Tigers from 2021-23, starting as their cornerbacks coach before being named associate head coach and safety coach.
He was a four-year starter for the Tigers and was a captain on the 2010 national championship team. He went undrafted in the 2011 NFL draft and started his coaching career in 2012 with the Penn State Nittany Lions as a graduate assistant.
He was a graduate assistant with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets from 2013-14 before heading to Western Carolina, where he coached the cornerbacks in 2016 and outside linebackers in 2017. He coached the defensive backs at Louisiana in 2018 before his first stint at Houston.
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