The Ohio State Buckeyes are an easy favorite for this season’s national title as well, after winning it in 2024. But this is not the same team that won the championship. There are heaps of new faces, both in the locker room and in the staff. Ryan Day brought in former Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia to the team early this year. How is he going to carry forward the legacy left by Jim Knowles, his predecessor? Moreover, what does his rapport with his defense look like off the field?
Patricia has some shining records as an NFL DC. He was part of three Super Bowl-winning teams in the Patriots, the last two of which he took on the role of defensive coordinator. His tenures at Detroit and Philadelphia, however, are quite sour to remember. In Detroit, Patricia recorded a poor 3-12-1 result in the 2019 season. Ryan Day, by bringing him in, invited a plethora of reactions. Patricia doesn’t seem to have sealed the deal for being the right fit to lead Ohio State’s defense. He seems to be taking some pages out of Jim Knowles’ book, according to Menace 2 Sports.
In a March 23 video, Zack Smith discussed how Patricia was approaching the role in the 2025 season. He says, “They’re running the same defense. They’re just changing all the calls—changing the names. But they’re running the Jim Knowles defense.” “When Matt Patricia took the job, it was about enhancing the defense, not about running your defense.” Zack then says that Patricia is almost like a “rocket-science engineer, astrophysicist” because of his versatility. “So, Matt Guerrieri and the defensive staff taught him Jim Knowles’ defense. They discussed, maybe, some enhancements, some tweaks.”
Smith also stressed that people shouldn’t expect Patricia to stick to what he did at the Patriots. “He’s not coming in to bring in the Patriots’ defense to Columbus.” He asserted how dominant the defense of the Buckeyes has been and that it doesn’t need some revamped strategy. “We were just the best defense in the country. We’re not changing,” Smith said. He also added that Patricia will add his inputs and style in his way at some point. “There will be, obviously, his own wrinkles and an evolution.”
The Buckeyes will enter the 2025 season with some key players lost to the draft and some fresh faces as starters. How Patricia takes charge of the defense will show if Ryan Day made the right call by having him on board. Patricia’s locker room antics, however, are something that the HC has to keep a sharp eye on.
Matt Patricia has a bad rap about his locker room conduct
Patricia’s demeanor is not some hidden mystery. Joshua Perry, an analyst and former Buckeyes linebacker, shared an incident with him he said he can’t forget. “It was in my pre-draft process. Went into the film room and watched about 2 hours and 45 minutes worth the film. He tore us down. Told us we are nothing, we couldn’t do any good… Guys were dropping like flies, two of us made it to the on-field work… He killed us. It was terrible.”
Before sharing this insight into Patricia’s locker room rapport, Perry said, “If Day can keep the ‘smartest man in the room’ tendencies at-bat and keep him from rubbing the defensive players the wrong way, then this could be a good hire.” Not so sure how to process this comment now after knowing that Patricia can be extremely hard on the guys off the field.
During his time at Detroit, cornerback Darius Slay received quite the harsh treatment. The Sporting News shared an incident reported by the Detroit Free Press, where Patricia made an extremely vulgar comment at the cornerback in light of a picture he shared on social media featuring another WR. “That’s disrespectful to me. And so from there on, it was done with,” Slay said.
Knowles left OSU with one national title to his name. Patricia is coming in with Super Bowl wins under his belt. It’s still too early to tell in which direction his tenure could go, but there are some huge expectations to be met. Patricia has to step up to meet them and also bring in his touch in the Buckeyes’ offensive strategy.
The post OSU Insider Confirms Matt Patricia’s Jim Knowles Move, Days After Ryan Day Warned of DC’s Locker Room Antics appeared first on EssentiallySports.