COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Matt Patricia knows the pressure that comes with defending a championship and the limited amount of time that accompanies it.
Whether or not Patricia can have the same success in college will be a work in progress.
Patricia is still getting up to speed after being named Ohio State's defensive coordinator on Feb. 20. After spending most of his career coaching in the NFL, Patricia has received positive reviews for his work during the first three weeks of the Buckeyes' spring practices.
“I think the feedback from our players has been good,” head coach Ryan Day said. “Matt and his experience and credibility speaks for itself. I think they know that, but now they’re getting a chance to meet him, and I think it’s been great. We’ve got great feedback from the recruits as well.”
Patricia is back in college for the first time since 2002, when he was a graduate assistant at Syracuse. Day's hiring of Patricia was surprising considering the coach's struggles since leaving New England after the 2017 season.
Patricia went 13-29-1 in his nearly three seasons as the head coach of the Detroit Lions from 2018 through '20. He returned to the Patriots for two seasons, including being the offensive play caller in 2022, when that unit struggled.
In 2023, Patricia went to Philadelphia as a senior defensive assistant. He took over the defense for the final five games, including the playoffs, but the Eagles continued to struggle and went 1-4 down the stretch. That included a loss at Tampa Bay in the NFC wild-card round.
“I’m very blessed for my NFL career. I was lucky to coach great players and I had a lot of fun,” Patricia said. “I think this is a great opportunity to go coach, and that's what I want to do.”
Day and athletic director Ross Bjork also vetted Patricia about his 1996 arrest for sexual assault while on spring break in Texas when he was a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The case, which also involved an RPI teammate, was dismissed when the woman was unable to testify.
Details of the case originally came to light during Patricia's first season in Detroit in 2018. He said at the time he was wrongly accused.
Patricia takes over the Buckeyes defense after Jim Knowles went to Big Ten rival Penn State after three seasons. Ohio State led the Football Bowl Subdivision in scoring defense, total defense and passing defense last season en route to its third national championship since 2002.
However, the Buckeyes return only three starters from that unit with none being on the defensive line.
Patricia's greatest asset when he was at New England was being able to adjust to his personnel by running multiple fronts and coverages.
“I think multiplicity comes in a couple different ways," Patricia said. "I do like the flexibility of the nickel (package) and linebackers that can play on and off the ball. Let's get as many guys as we can in different roles and keep it moving on the offense and stay ahead of them before they figure it out.”
Day has stressed throughout spring drills that time is of the essence. When the Buckeyes had their first spring practice on March 17, it was only eight weeks after they beat Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff championship game.
Day initially thought about not doing a spring game on April 12, but has changed course the past couple weeks. A big reason for that is because the Buckeyes host Texas in their opener on Aug. 31, in what will be a rematch of the CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl, which Ohio State won 28-14.
Patricia certainly understands short time frames coming off championships from his time in New England.
“We’re behind everyone else. It's just trying to create that urgency of what's happening right now with our team and to be intentional about everything,” he said. “It's also making sure you get the rest and recovery. I always tell the guys, too, when you reach the top of the mountain, there's a huge target on you. Teams are going to spend the offseason studying everything you do. Some teams will spend six months getting ready for us, so we have to understand we've got to catch up to where they are.”
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