When Ryan Day seemingly finalized his coaching staff for the 2021 season by promoting Matt Barnes and Parker Fleming rather than making an external hire to replace Greg Mattison, he expressed a desire to maintain continuity and build upon what Ohio State has already been trying to build on defense for the past two years.
“How do we keep continuity on that side of the ball, and how do we continue to just build what we’ve been working on here for a couple years and put the right people into place,” Day said on Feb. 3. “I think when you bring in somebody new, that brings in a different dynamic.”
Just a few days later, however, it looked as though that continuity could take a big hit when reports surfaced that Ohio State linebackers coach Al Washington was mulling an offer to become Tennessee’s defensive coordinator.
That concern was put to rest on Thursday, when Washington turned down Tennessee’s offer and decided to stay with the Buckeyes – likely with a raise and a new title of run game coordinator, though Ohio State hasn’t confirmed that yet – but the fact that Washington even considered leaving showed just how tenuous the concept of continuity can be.
Had Washington gone to Knoxville, Ohio State would have lost both of its linebackers coaches from last season, as Mattison coached the Sam linebackers during his two years as co-defensive coordinator. With Washington set to coach the entire linebacker unit this year, his departure likely would have forced Day to make an outside hire and bring in an experienced linebackers coach from elsewhere.
There surely would have been no shortage of interested candidates if the Ohio State linebackers coach job opened up, so there’s plenty of reason to believe Day would have found a qualified candidate. It’s arguable that the Buckeyes should have brought in at least one new defensive coach this offseason anyway after their struggles on that side of the ball last season.
Replacing Washington, though, was decidedly not part of the plan. Ohio State’s linebacker play has improved significantly over the past two years since Washington replaced Bill Davis, and the decisions to promote Barnes and Fleming were made in part because Day believed Washington was capable of taking over Mattison’s responsibilities in linebacker coaching and leading the run defense along with defensive line coach Larry Johnson.
Had the Buckeyes lost Washington, they would have had to break in a new linebackers coach while also replacing all of their starting linebackers from last season, which would have made the question marks about that position group entering 2021 even greater. They would have also lost two of their three coaches who led their run defense, an area where Ohio State was strong in 2020, allowing only 97.7 rushing yards per game.
Perhaps most importantly, keeping Washington was crucial to keeping continuity on the recruiting trail, as Washington is currently ranked as the No. 1 recruiter among all Football Bowl Subdivision assistant coaches for the recruiting class of 2022. Washington led the way in landing commitments from linebackers Gabe Powers, C.J. Hicks and Dasan McCullough as well as offensive tackle Tegra Tshabola, while he’s also built key relationships with some of the Buckeyes’ other remaining targets in the class, like five-star linebacker Shawn Murphy, four-star linebackers Jalon Walker and Malaki Hamrick and four-star wide receiver Kojo Antwi.
Al Washington has established himself as both one of Ohio State's top defensive coaches and one of its best recruiters.
Washington’s flirtation with Tennessee was a reminder that maintaining coaching staff continuity is easier said than done, and the possibility of losing assistant coaches to other jobs is one that’s always lingering. While Day has purposely loaded his staff with coaches who he believes want to be at Ohio State for the long haul, young position coaches like Washington and wide receivers coach Brian Hartline are going to get overtures from elsewhere – and just because Washington turned down the job at Tennessee now doesn’t mean he won’t pursue opportunities to become a primary defensive coordinator next year.
Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson and running backs coach Tony Alford have pursued head coaching opportunities in recent years, and any coach on Ohio State’s staff could feasibly have a chance to pursue head coach or coordinator openings elsewhere if their respective units perform well.
It’s part of Day’s job to be prepared to replace any assistant coach at any time, so he likely already had potential replacements in mind if Washington chose to leave. It’s inevitable that more staff turnover will happen in future seasons, and Day still has something to prove in that regard, as he’s only had to replace three members of his inaugural coaching staff (Jeff Hafley, Mike Yurcich and Mattison) so far.
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Of course, Day’s goal isn’t to eliminate staff turnover – or to prevent his assistant coaches from getting opportunities – but to keep it from happening repeatedly. And Washington’s decision to stay at Ohio State for at least one more year, turning down more money and a more prominent title in the process, is indicative of Day building a culture that assistant coaches want to be a part of.
Even with the issues Ohio State had on defense last year, Day’s goal was to keep the band together this offseason – trusting the defensive coaching staff to get things fixed after dealing with the unexpected challenges of COVID-19 last season – and by keeping Washington in Columbus, he’s achieved that.
Mattison’s retirement had been anticipated, so that wasn’t a surprise departure, and the Buckeyes were able to avoid losing anyone else from their on-field coaching staff even when there might have been opportunities elsewhere (like Urban Meyer becoming the Jacksonville Jaguars’ coach) and even after making a run to the national championship game, which typically makes a program’s assistant coaches hot commodities.
If Day had lost Washington just one week after saying that Washington would “take on added responsibility” in 2021, it would have been a hit to the stability Day has made it clear he wants in his program. But by keeping Washington and nearly his entire staff in the fold this offseason, Day has maintained the continuity that he believes is the foundation to a successful program.
