Couch Hired to Lead Special Teams

HOUSTON – Houston Football head coach Willie Fritz announced the hiring of Chris Couch as his Special Teams Coordinator on Wednesday ahead of the 2025 season.

"Coach Couch and I share a long history, having worked together for seven seasons at Tulane and Georgia Southern," Fritz said. "He is extremely knowledgeable on special teams and he knows what we like to do in all four phases of the kicking and punting game. We're excited to welcome Chris, his wife, Susannah, and both sons, Wyatt and Teddy, to the University of Houston family."

Couch reunites with Coach Fritz for his third stint with Coach Fritz in following three years at Florida as the GameChanger Coordinator where his role focused on special teams.

"I'm so excited to be able to work for Coach Fritz for a third stint," Couch said. "Coach is a leader of men and has the experience to take Houston football to the next level. It doesn't hurt he's a special teams guy too!"

In 2024, Couch helped guide Florida to a late-season charge, winning the last four games of the season to finish with an 8-5 record overall, with victories over No. 21 LSU, No. 9 Ole Miss, Florida State and Tulane in the 16th Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl. The Gators were one of just unranked six teams in the nation to post multiple top 25 wins on the year.

Couch helped Florida to a strong 2024 season on special teams where the Gators special teams unit ranked second in the nation in both the ESPN SP+ and FEI Special Teams rankings. The Gators also tied for the national lead in fewest blocked kicks and blocked punts allowed, ranked 11th in net punting (42.37) and 18th in punt returns (13.36).

Individually, Rocco Underwood won the 2024 Mannelly Award for the best long snapper in the nation and earned Second-Team All-America accolades from the AFCA and Second-Team All-SEC honors, while punter Jeremy Crawshaw was named a Reese's Senior Bowl All-American after finishing fifth in the nation in punting (45.7). Kicker Trey Smack ended the season ranked 24th in the country in field goal percentage (.857). hitting 18-of-21 field goals, with a long of 55.

Couch helped tutor Crawshaw to become Florida's all-time career leader in punt average at 46.4. On the return side, Jadan Baugh was one of eight SEC players to own two 30-yard plus kick returns and one of 11 freshmen in the FBS to do so. Out of Chimere Dike's 14 returns, four of them went for 20-plus yards, making him one of 23 players in the FBS to accomplish the feat.

Prior to his time at Florida, Couch spent the 2021 season at Louisiana as Special Teams Coordinator where the Ragin' Cajuns ranked 15th nationally in punting average and fourth in the Sun Belt Conference in kick return yardage during Couch's lone season in Lafayette.

Prior to joining the Ragin' Cajuns, Couch spent five seasons at Tulane (2016-20), where he worked as the special teams analyst and recruiting coordinator. During his last three seasons at Tulane, the Green Wave ranked in the top half of the American Athletic Conference and top-50 nationally in both kick and punt returns.

At Tulane, Couch recruited, coached and tutored punter Ryan Wright to Freshman All-America honors in 2018, was an First Team American Athletic All-Conference selection in 2020 and 2021. Now with the Minnesota Vikings, Wright has playing in 17 games each of his first three seasons in the NFL averaging 47.6 yards per punt with 40.4 percent of his punts landing inside the 20-yard line.

Prior to Tulane, Couch served as a special teams coordinator and linebackers coach at Point University during the 2015 season, helping the Skyhawks to a 9-3 overall record, a perfect 5-0 conference record and their first-ever NAIA playoff appearance.

Among the NAIA national leaders, the Skyhawks ranked third in net punting, 20th in punt return yardage and 30th in kickoff return yardage.

Before joining Point University, Couch worked as a defensive graduate assistant at Georgia Southern. He assisted with linebackers in 2014 and defensive tackles in 2013. During his stint at Georgia Southern, he was part of a perfect 8-0 Sun Belt Conference record in 2014, while assisting in the coaching of future NFL players Edwin Jackson, Antwoine Williams and Ironhead Gallon.

Couch was the slot backs coach at Missouri Southern State University in 2012. With a 6-5 record, the Lions recorded their first winning season in several years, highlighted by an overtime win over second-ranked Missouri Western.

Couch earned his bachelor's degree in exercise science from Georgia Southern in 2011 and his master's degree in high education administration from Georgia Southern in 2015.

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