Bob Ligashesky, the coaching veteran who has spent the past two seasons as the Gophers special teams coordinator, won’t return to the team for the 2026 season.
Ligashesky, 63, has coached at the college and NFL levels since 1985 and came to Minnesota in January 2024 after two seasons at Syracuse. He was with Bowling Green in 2021 and Illinois from 2016 to 2020.
The Gophers special teams under Ligashesky were inconsistent this season.
A source with knowledge of the situation confirmed the move to the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Placekicker Brady Denaburg, a transfer from Syracuse, made 14 of 21 field-goal attempts but was 2-for-7 from 40 yards or longer and missed a 40-yard attempt as time expired against Northwestern that would have forced overtime in Minnesota’ 38-35 loss. On the flip side, Denaburg had touchbacks on 47 of his 58 kickoffs, but one of his non-touchbacks went for a 100-yard return for a touchdown by New Mexico in the Rate Bowl.
Punter Tom Weston was a bright spot this season, averaging 42.58 yards per punt. Of his 65 punts, 23 were inside the opponent’s 20-yard line and 18 resulted in fair catches. He earned third-team All-Big Ten honors.
The Gophers’ punt return game took a slight step back this year. Primary returner Koi Perich averaged 6.56 yards per punt return, down from 9.40 in 2024. Perich’s kickoff return average improved from 19.63 in 2024 to 26.26 this year.
Minnesota had four special teams categories finish 102nd or lower nationally in statistical ratings: punt returns (104th with a 6.0-yard average), punt coverage (102nd at 10.65), kickoff coverage (107th at 22.83) and field-goal percentage (tied for 110th at 66.7%).
