The Gophers football program will not retain special teams coordinator Bob Ligashesky for the 2026 season, a source told the Pioneer Press on Tuesday.

This is the second dismissal of a Gophers assistant since the end of the regular season. Defensive line coach Dennis Dottin-Carter also was let go and replaced by rush ends coach C.J. Robbins and Bobby April III, the Stanford defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach, who is expected to come to the U as rush ends coach.

In his second season at Minnesota, Ligashesky’s units had a couple of bright spots — punter Tom Weston and returner Koi Perich — but lagged in multiple categories. Minnesota was 110th in field goal percentage (66.7%); 104th in punt return average (6.0 yards); 102nd in opponent punt returns (10.6); and 107th in opponent kickoff returns (22.8).

The Gophers were in control of the Rate Bowl on Friday with a 14-6 lead in the fourth quarter before New Mexico returner Damon Bankston returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to help set up overtime. Minnesota won 20-17 in the extra session in Phoenix.

Last year, transfer kicker Brady Denaburg was 14 for 21 on field goals, including 2 of 7 from 40 yards or longer.

Weston, a transfer from Division II Ouachita Baptist, was all-Big Ten last year, with 65 punts for a 42.5-yard average that registered 72nd in the nation.

Perich’s six kickoff returns of more than 25 yards, including a 93-yarder in the 38-35 Northwestern loss on Nov. 22, helped put the U at 33rd in the nation in average return (22.8 yards).

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