Another coach who previously worked with Jim Knowles is joining Ohio State’s defensive support staff.
Sam McGrath, who was the linebackers coach last season at Duke, announced Friday that he has joined the staff at Ohio State.
Excited for our next chapter with @OhioStateFB! Go Bucks! pic.twitter.com/IWlKExMlGh
— Sam McGrath (@CoachMcGrath22) January 28, 2022
McGrath is listed in Ohio State’s directory as a program assistant, and he’s expected to work with the linebackers, though he will not be one of the Buckeyes’ 10 full-time assistant coaches.
McGrath previously worked with Knowles from 2015-17, when Knowles was the defensive coordinator at Duke and McGrath was a graduate assistant. He was promoted to defensive quality control coach in 2018 and spent three years in that role before he was promoted to linebackers coach in 2021, but was not retained by new Duke head coach Mike Elko.
“Sam McGrath epitomizes everything a young man in the coaching profession should be,” former Duke coach David Cutcliffe said when he promoted McGrath last year. “He's worked extremely hard, soaked up knowledge from a variety of mentors and displayed a unique ability to remain patient while pursuing his goals, and I couldn't be prouder of Sam in earning this opportunity. His attributes, both on and off the field, coupled with his experience with our linebackers when Jim Knowles was with us, made this the right choice at the right time.”
McGrath, a graduate of Brown University, also previously worked at Fairleigh Dickinson, Stevenson and Wagner before joining Duke’s coaching staff in 2015.
He becomes the third new addition to Ohio State’s support staff on the defensive side of the ball this offseason, along with senior advisor and analyst Matt Guerrieri (who also worked with Knowles at Duke) and Koy McFarland, who also joined the Buckeyes in an unspecified role earlier this month after working with Knowles at Oklahoma State. Michael Hunter, who was also set to follow Knowles from Stillwater to Columbus, did not end up joining the Buckeyes and instead remains with Oklahoma State as an assistant defensive backs coach.
Overall, McGrath becomes the sixth new hire on the defensive side of the ball for the Buckeyes this offseason along with Knowles (who will be both defensive coordinator and linebackers coach), secondary/cornerbacks coach Tim Walton and safeties coach Perry Eliano.
McGrath comes to the Buckeyes with ties to Central Ohio: His wife, Abby Johnston, is a native of Upper Arlington, Ohio, who won the silver medal in diving at the 2012 Summer Olympics and is now a doctor.
