Greg Mattison was coaching in the Big Ten before Ryan Day was born.
I think that's neat.
That's about it, though. At a certain point cumulative years stops being impressive as a coaching feat and more of a statement about how you can fall ass-backwards out of a coaching tree and hit like five more jobs on the way down as long as you've been up there for 20 years or so and made enough friends along the way.
Which is not a comment on Greg Mattison the coach! We've talked about his schemes and his potential, and he's proven over a very long career that he can construct some pretty formidable defenses (last game against Ohio State notwithstanding).
But that's kind of the point: Greg Mattison has the reputation that he does because of what he's been able to accomplish on the field, not because of his longevity in the sport. Billy Davis has been in the coaching game since 1992, which is the same year that man landed on the moon, I think. And yet! Out he goes, because the linebackers looked like they had stumbled into a Fellini film half of the time they were on the field (oh, and don't worry about ol' Billy, he got immediately picked up as the linebackers coach for the Arizona Cardinals).
Mattison, for the most part, has helped shape the Michigan defense into something sensical and consistent, ranking in the top five units for each of the last four seasons. Whatever misgivings Ohio State fans might have about hiring a Michigan Man (all rights reserved, copyright 1873), I know I personally would kill for that kind of consistency.
Where Ohio State has had consistency is on the defensive line. Larry Johnson has been a monster recruiter and coach for the Buckeyes since he arrived in Columbus, and while injuries have sometimes slowed the development of the defensive line as a whole, he's been undeniably one of the best coaches on staff. Urban Meyer hit a home run with his hire, and Ryan Day was wise to keep Larry around.
The narrative around Mattison and Johnson often seems to be about their combined years in coaching having a stabilizing effect on the rest of the staff; Mattison and Johnson (and Kevin Wilson, on the offensive side of the ball) will use their old guy powers to shape their collective experience into a delicious jelly bean that Jeff Hafley can eat and use to transform into some kind of Brent Venables clone.
That would be super dope, but I'm wary.
I got to watch the Luke Fickell Experience live and in concert during the 2011 season. Fickell, who was thrust into an unfair and impossible situation, was expected to lean real freaking hard on guys like offensive coordinator Jim Bollman, defensive coordinator Jim Heacock, and running backs coach Dick Tressel, who had over 120 years of combined coaching experience. And he did. And it sucked.
Well, not completely. The defense was fine; 19th in the country isn't too bad when you have the 107th ranked offense punting 15 times a game and putting pressure on you constantly. It was obvious after just a few games in 2011 that while Braxton Miller was the clear answer to Ohio State's offensive woes, the staff had utterly no idea what to do with the guy.
Given Miller's talent and the interest the football staff (should've) had in developing him as a potential Heisman candidate and/or a dude who can score points to win games, things might've gone a little better than 6-7 and the first losing season since Night Court.
Dick Tressel promptly retired after 2011. Jim Heacock stuck around for a little bit longer, and then did the same. The inexplicably now-64 year old Jim Bollman eventually landed at Michigan State, where he's still Jim Bollman and doing mediocre Jim Bollman things.
What I find interesting and perhaps relevant about that 2011 team is that the true coaching talent on that staff didn't seem to have always been in direct correlation with how many years a dude had been blowing into a whistle. Luke Fickell eventually acquitted himself quite nicely at Cincinnati, first year wide receivers coach Stan Drayton is now the assistant head coach at Texas, and ringer defensive coach Mike Vrabel is now the head coach of the freaking Tennessee Titans.
This isn't to say that Johnson and Mattison can't or won't provide a lot of help to Ryan Day. They will. But recent history has taught us that experience isn't always the best indicator of success when it comes to coaching, especially in a sport that sometimes leans hard into nepotism like football.
Greg Mattison will have to adjust quickly to a new boss, new personnel, and unfamiliar coaches. Larry Johnson must define what his new role as assistant head coach looks like, in addition to his duties in coaching defensive line. Despite the track record of both of these men, success in those areas is not a guarantee.
And to be fair, much of this falls on Ryan Day. As head coach he needs to know how best to manage his personnel and put them in position to do their best work. Mattison and Johnson are known commodities but they aren't perfect and they aren't babysitters. If Ryan Day needs them to hold his (or anyone else's) hand while coaching, the Buckeyes could very well give us flashbacks to eight years ago.
Even more importantly, Day also needs to give the rest of his young, fresh faced staff some room to breathe, because ultimately, whether it's on the field or in the coaches' box, you win with talent. If the newest head coach of Ohio State football has confidence in his new staff, all of his new staff, 2019 could be a lot of fun.
