Another defensive assistant from last year's Ohio State coaching staff is headed to the NFL.
The Oakland Raiders announced on Thursday that they have hired Taver Johnson, who was Ohio State's cornerbacks coach and special teams coordinator last season, as their new assistant defensive backs coach.
Hired by Urban Meyer to replace Kerry Coombs last February, Johnson's return to Ohio State lasted just one season, as he was not retained by new Ohio State head coach Ryan Day. Johnson had previously coached at Ohio State from 2007-01 as an assistant coach for Jim Tressel and Luke Fickell.
Johnson's only previous experience as an NFL assistant coach came in 2004, when he was the special teams coordinator for the Cleveland Browns.
With the Raiders' hiring of Johnson, all four of Ohio State's assistant coaches from last season who were not retained by Day have landed in new jobs. Defensive coordinator Greg Schiano is joining the NFL's New England Patriots in the same role, while linebackers coach Bill Davis is now the linebackers coach for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals. Co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Alex Grinch is now the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma.
Those four assistant coaches were replaced on Ohio State's coaching staff by new co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Jeff Hafley, co-defensive coordinator Greg Mattison, special teams coordinator and assistant secondary coach Matt Barnes and linebackers coach Al Washington.
