Ohio State is turning to one of football’s most respected pass-rush technicians with the hiring of longtime NFL assistant Joe Kim to work with the Buckeyes’ defensive line.
Kim spent last season working with Bret Bielema for the University of Illinois, where he helped develop Edge Gabe Jacas into an All-Big Ten performer who led the Big Ten conference in sacks with 11, and is now projected to go in the first round of the upcoming NFL draft. This is the second time Ohio State has hired someone from Bielema’s coaching staff, having hired Special Teams Coordinator Robby Discher at the end of January.
Kim’s resume is quite impressive. He has worked with 11 different organizations in the NFL over a three-decade span. He first broke into the league with the Browns in 1992 under Bill Belichick as an assistant strength coach and pass-rush specialist, beginning a career that has made him a resource for NFL and college staffs seeking an edge in getting after the quarterback.
Kim is also a renowned taekwondo instructor, a background that shapes his teaching of hand usage, leverage, and balance along the line of scrimmage. He has produced more than 250 black belts and multiple national and international champions, and he later formalized his football-specific work by founding the training outfit Football Combatives in 2017. Former Alabama coach Nick Saban, during a 2024 appearance on ESPN’s College GameDay, praised the way Kim “teaches players how to attack a source, how to use and read a body position for weakness and strength.”
NEWS: Ohio State has hired long-time NFL and college pass-rush specialist Joe Kim to its coaching staff, multiple sources tell @LettermenRow.
Kim is a decorated football coach and taekwondo instructor…
READ: https://t.co/pWgcwhHuS0pic.twitter.com/ODWEFAt8n8
— Spencer Holbrook (@SpencerHolbrook) March 24, 2026
At Ohio State, Kim will reunite with defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, whose New England defenses leaned on Kim’s techniques when Kim served as the Patriots’ pass-rush consultant in 2018 and director of skill development from 2019–24. His focus now will be on helping veteran line coach Larry Johnson unlock another wave of Buckeye pass rushers, a group that includes talents such as Kenyatta Jackson Jr., Zion Grady, Qua Russaw, and Beau Atkinson.
For a program defined by defensive-line excellence, adding a coach once labeled “the pass-rush guru” is a sign that Ohio State intends to keep living in the backfield.
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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Ohio State hires Nick Saban’s ‘Pass-Rush Guru’ for the defensive line
