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Ohio State has hired Matt Patricia as its new defensive coordinator.
Ohio State is hiring a Super Bowl-winning defensive coordinator to lead its defense.
Matt Patricia, who helped lead the New England Patriots to two Super Bowl wins as their defensive coordinator, will be the new defensive coordinator for Ohio State in 2025, an Ohio State spokesperson confirmed Wednesday.
Patricia replaces Jim Knowles, who left Ohio State in January to become Penn State’s defensive coordinator.
In addition to Patricia’s hiring as defensive coordinator, secondary coach Tim Walton is being promoted to co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Matt Guerrieri is being promoted to passing game coordinator.
Patricia has shown he can lead elite defenses at the highest level of football, having been the Patriots’ defensive play caller from 2009-17. The Patriots ranked in the top 10 in the NFL in points allowed per game in eight of those nine seasons, leading the NFL in scoring defense in 2016 on its way to winning the Super Bowl. The Patriots also won the Super Bowl in 2014 after ranking eighth in the league in points allowed per game.
Patricia also brings head coaching experience to the Buckeyes, though his tenure with the Detroit Lions (2018-20) was unsuccessful as he went just 13-29-1 in three seasons before being fired. Following his dismissal in Detroit, Patricia returned to the Patriots for two seasons and served as their offensive play-caller in 2022. He did not coach in 2024 after spending the 2023 season with the Philadelphia Eagles as a senior defensive assistant.
Patricia hasn’t coached at the collegiate level since he was an offensive graduate assistant at Syracuse from 2001-03. He started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, his alma mater, in 1996, and was the defensive line coach at Amherst College in 1999 and 2000 after working outside of football for two years as an engineer.
Patricia left Syracuse to become the Patriots’ assistant offensive line coach in 2004, winning his first of three Super Bowl rings in his first season in New England. He spent two years in that role before moving to the defensive side of the ball, starting out as the Patriots’ linebackers coach in 2006 before working his way up to defensive coordinator.
Now, Patricia – who spent 16 years in total working with the Patriots as an assistant to Bill Belichick – will serve as a college defensive coordinator for the first time in a program where the expectations will be to win championships just as he did in New England.
He’ll lead a defensive coaching staff that will otherwise consist of four returning assistants from last season: Walton, Guerrieri, defensive line coach Larry Johnson and linebackers coach James Laurinaitis.
Patricia is one of two new coordinators for Ohio State in 2025, joining Brian Hartline after his promotion from wide receivers coach to offensive coordinator. He’s one of three new full-time assistants for the Buckeyes along with quarterbacks coach Billy Fessler (who was promoted from offensive analyst) and offensive line coach/run game coordinator Tyler Bowen (who was previously Virginia Tech’s offensive coordinator).
