Zac

Etheridge

Etheridge has coached in the college ranks since 2012 and spent last season serving as the University of Miami’s defensive backs coach and defensive pass game coordinator. He served as Houston’s defensive backs coach in 2024. Before that, he spent the 2021-2023 seasons working as Auburn’s secondary coach and was also named associate head coach in 2022.

Etheridge is another hot up-and-coming coach in the college world. He was previously the CB coach for Houston, where he coached All-AAC CBs Marcus Jones and Damarion Williams, and he coached All-American Roger McCreary this year. His first class with Auburn got him ranked in the top 25 recruiters by 247Sports and is a rising name in both coaching and recruiting circles. That got him mentioned as a top candidate for the vacant Georgia DB coach position, but he will be staying at Auburn which is quite nice for the Tigers.

Bryan Harsin’s Auburn staff is coming together nicely. Etheridge, who spent the past two seasons in Houston, is one of Harsin’s first new additions to the defensive staff. Over the past handful of seasons, Etheridge has climbed the coaching ladder, going from Western Carolina to Louisiana to Houston, and now finally making his leap to the Power Five at Auburn. What’s more is that Etheridge played for the Tigers as a DB back in the late 2000s, making this a bit of a return to home for him.

Etheridge spent one year with the Ragin’ Cajuns, joining the school from Western Carolina. If the name sounds familiar, Etheridge was a team captain for Auburn who played four years for the school from 2007-2010.

Etheridge had accepted a position to coach at Chattanooga last week, but instead will be taking his talents to Lafayette. Prior to leaving for Lafayette -- and Chattanooga -- he served as the DB coach at Western Carolina. He was a four-year player for Auburn from 2007-2010.