Staff Directory
- Title:
- Special Teams Analyst
- Email:
Updated April 2026
Kent State head football coach Mark Carney announced the addition of Josh Cribbs to the Golden Flashes’ coaching staff as the special teams analyst in April 2026.
A four-year starter at quarterback for the Golden Flashes from 2001–04, Cribbs rewrote Kent State’s record books in ways that remain unmatched. He finished his collegiate career as the all-time total offense leader with 10,839 yards. He’s also the all-time leader in rushing touchdowns (38) and touchdowns (41). When he left the Flashes, he was also the all-time leader in completions (616), attempts (1,123), passing yards (7,169), and points (246). His No. 9 jersey was retired, and he was inducted into the Kent State Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.
He is one of only two true freshmen in NCAA history to rush and pass for 1,000 yards in the same season, and accomplished the dual 1,000-yard feat in two separate seasons, placing him among only eight players in NCAA history to do so more than once. He stands as one of only four quarterbacks in NCAA history to rush for 3,500 yards and throw for 7,000 yards in a career, and remains the only player in NCAA history to lead his team in both rushing and passing in four consecutive seasons.
Cribbs entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent signed by the Cleveland Browns in April 2005. Cribbs averaged 24.5 yards per kickoff return as a rookie, setting a Browns franchise record for return yardage in a season, a record he broke the following year. By the end of his career, he had rewritten the franchise’s special teams record book entirely. He holds Cleveland’s all-time marks for career kickoff return yards (10,015), combined kickoff and punt return yards (12,169), all-purpose yards (14,065), most kickoff return yards in a single season (1,809 in 2007), most kickoff return touchdowns in a single season (three in 2009), and most all-purpose yards in a single season (2,510 in 2009).
His ability to change games in an instant made him one of the most feared return men of his era. Cribbs returned eight kickoffs and three punts for touchdowns during his NFL career, and holds the distinction of recording two kickoff return touchdowns of 100 yards or more in a single game, an NFL record he shares with Ted Ginn Jr. His longest kickoff return went 103 yards.
Cribbs was named to the Pro Bowl following the 2007, 2009, and 2012 seasons, earned first-team All-Pro recognition in 2009, and was voted onto the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 2000s by a panel recognizing the best players of that era. Following his time with the Browns, Cribbs played for the New York Jets and Indianapolis Colts. He retired as a Cleveland Brown on March 22, 2017. In 2020, the Browns formally inducted him as a Cleveland Browns Legend, cementing his place in the franchise’s storied history.
