Ohio State hiring Matt Patricia for defensive coordinator job

Ohio State is hiring former Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia for its open defensive coordinator job, a source tells On3. ESPN first reported the news. The former New England Patriots defensive coordinator spent 2024 working at the 33rd Team along with his former boss Bill Belichick.

Now the head coach at North Carolina, Belichick and Patricia spent a large part of the 2024 season on the sidelines studying the college football game. With Belichick deciding to hire his son, Steve, as his defensive coordinator, Patricia is a free agent.

Ohio State is also promoting secondary coach Tim Walton to co-defensive coordinator and promoting safeties coach Matt Guerrieri to pass-game coordinator. Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles accepted the Penn State defensive coordinator days after the Buckeyes won the national championship last month.

Patricia’s 2018 Detroit team ranked fourth in sacks per attempt (8.7%), eighth in passing defense (224.9 ypg) and 10th in rushing defense (110.1 ypg) and total defense (335.0 ypg). Patricia started his career at Amherst and then Syracuse before becoming the assistant offensive line coach for the Patriots in 2004 and 2005, winning Super Bowls with the Patriots.

Patricia started his career at Amherst and then Syracuse before becoming the assistant offensive line coach for the Patriots in 2004 and 2005, winning Super Bowls with the Patriots. He then became the linebackers coach and the safeties coach across six seasons before becoming the defensive coordinator in New England. Patricia was in that post from 2012-2017 before being hired as the Lions head coach in 2018, where he served until 2020. He had a record of 13-29-1 as a head coach before being fired.

Matt Patricia served in an advisory role for the Patriots in 2021 and 2022 before going to the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2023 season as a defensive coach.