The Todd Bowles coaching tree has taken root.
Former New York Jets coaching intern Antonio Cromartie has taken on a graduate assistant’s role at Texas A&M University. Cromartie, 36, previously served as a Jets cornerback for five seasons (2010-13, 2015), earning 13 interceptions and partaking in the latter of consecutive trips to the AFC title game in his first year.
He’ll now join an SEC football staff headed by Jimbo Fisher in College Station. The Aggies are coming off a 9-1 season, capped off by a win over North Carolina in the Orange Bowl in January.
“Coach Cro is in the building,” Cromartie said in a tweet announcing his news. “I would like to Thank Coach Fisher and (the Aggies) for allowing me to join their Staff. It’s go time. Gig’em [sic].”
According to Austin Nivison of 247Sports, Cromartie will, appropriately, work with the secondary. His accomplished NFL resume boasts four Pro Bowl nominations and an appearance on the first All-Pro team after his rookie year in 2007 in San Diego, where he led the league in interceptions. Cromartie’s other NFL stops include Arizona and Indianapolis after joining the league as a first-round pick (19th) overall of the Chargers.
It would appear that Cromartie has wasted no time in getting to work with his new unit. He retweeted a report from A&M fan page AggiesToday that he has already reached out to five-star prospect Harold Perkins, a Texas-based linebacker.
Texas A&M’s Maroon & White Spring Game will take place on April 24 at Kyle Field (2 p.m. ET, SEC Network+) while their 2021 opener is scheduled for Sept. 4 against Kent State. Their non-conference schedule also includes a visit to an NFL stadium the following week against Colorado, as Cromartie visits Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, home of the Chargers’ divisional rivals, the Broncos.
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