According to a report from ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel, the Ohio State Buckeyes are finalizing a deal to hire Matt Patricia as their new defensive coordinator.
After the national championship, Ohio State’s former defensive coordinator, Jim Knowles, left the Buckeyes to take the same role at Penn State. With high hopes of running it back, head coach Ryan Day was looking for his Knowles replacement, and now it looks like he’s found it in Patricia.
Why Would Matt Patricia Coach at Ohio State?
Patricia is one of the best defensive minds currently coaching in the entire sport. He served as a New England Patriots analyst from 2004-2005, then moved to a position as coach from 2006-2011 before getting promoted to defensive coordinator in 2012.
He was the Patriots DC up until 2017, winning three Super Bowls in his time in New England.
After his stint with the Pats, Patricia was hired as the head coach of the Detroit Lions. He eventually went back to the Patriots in an advising role in 2021. He hasn’t been a full-time coach since 2020 but now looks to move to Ohio State — is that the right move?
The short answer: Yes.
Patricia has been looking to find a coaching home for five years and has the chance to do it for the reigning champs in college football.
It’s not as though Knowles left Ohio State because of a lack of success or talent on the roster, so Patricia is walking into a team with a winning culture and one that is uber-talented.
Also, the reported money is great, as he is expected to bring in $10 million over the course of the contract.
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Patricia will look to continue the success of the Buckeyes defense, which ranked near the top of every statistical category last season. He will have the pleasure of coaching potential Heisman contender Caleb Downs, along with some other great young talent.
Patricia already has three Super Bowl rings, and now he looks to add his first national championship.
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