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The Ohio State football team has found their new defensive coordinator as Ryan Day is hiring Matt Patricia to replace Jim Knowles. Knowles left for Penn State after the Buckeyes won the national championship. Now, the Buckeyes are bringing in a DC with a lot of NFL experience, having won three Super Bowls in his career.
“Sources: Ohio State is finalizing a deal to hire Matt Patricia as the school’s new defensive coordinator,” Pete Thamel said in a post. “Patricia was an NFL head coach with the Lions and longtime DC with the New England Patriots.”
Matt Patricia is best known for his duties as the longtime DC for the New England Patriots, but he was more recently the head coach of the Detroit Lions. He has been in a few assistant positions in the NFL since his stint in Detroit didn't work out.
Day has made a couple of other important moves regarding the coaching staff as well. Tim Walton is being promoted to co-DC and Matt Guerrieri is being promoted to pass-game coordinator.
“Per ESPN sources, Ohio State will be promoting secondary coach Tim Walton to co-defensive coordinator,” Thamel said. “And they'll also be promoting safeties coach Matt Guerrieri to pass-game coordinator.”
Ohio State had to replace both coordinators after the national championship as offensive coordinator Chip Kelly left for the NFL. The Buckeyes promoted Brian Hartline to fill the vacancy there, and now with the addition of Matt Patricia, both jobs are filled.
Patricia most recently served as a senior defensive assistant for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023. He has been coaching since 1996 and has primarily worked as a defensive coach. He also worked with offensive lines, and he was the head coach of the Lions for three seasons.
Matt Patricia is most well-known for his defensive coordinator role with the Patriots during their dynasty years. Patricia was part of some elite teams as he won three Super Bowls with the Patriots, and he ended up earning a head coaching gig because of the job he did. Unfortunately, things didn't work out well for him with the Lions as the organization decided to move on after three years.
After the Lions moved on from Patricia, he went back to the Patriots and worked as a senior football advisor for one season before adding on offensive line coach duties the next year. Patricia was with the Eagles in 2023, and he was not with any team this past season. Patricia is now returning to the college game for the first time since 2003.
Matt Patricia didn't have much success as a head coach in the NFL, but he is now going back to his roots as a DC. It will be interesting to see how this hire works out for Ryan Day and Ohio State.
