ALLEN PARK \u2014 Matt Patricia, the former head coach of the Detroit Lions, is now the defensive coordinator for the Ohio State Buckeyes, the team confirmed on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Just a couple of years ago, this would have been an unimaginable announcement. However, Patricia is heading to Columbus to join head coach Ryan Day’s staff after a meeting with team officials last week.
\n“I have followed Matt\u2019s impressive NFL career for the past 15 years, dating back to when he began calling plays for those great New England teams,” Day reportedly said of Patricia. “I’ve also gotten to know him, and in addition to his creative and exceptional skills as a defensive coach, I believe Matt will fit well into our program’s culture and values, which are the core of who we are.
\n\u201cI\u2019m excited to welcome him, his wife Raina, and their children to Columbus and Ohio State University.\u201d
\nPatricia has not coached at the college level since his stint as an offensive graduate assistant at Syracuse from 2001 to 2003.<\/p>\n
During his time with the Lions, Patricia’s teams went 13-29-1, and he was let go after Week 12 of his third season. His tenure in Detroit was marked by a regression after the team parted ways with former head coach Jim Caldwell, as well as a poor locker room culture.<\/p>\n
After his firing, Patricia returned to the New England Patriots as a senior football advisor and defensive line coach before joining the Philadelphia Eagles as a senior defensive assistant. He eventually began calling plays near the end of 2023. Patricia had previously spent five years as New England’s defensive coordinator, contributing to the team\u2019s three Super Bowl victories during his long tenure.<\/p>\n
Patricia did not coach last year but remained in the public eye, making appearances on the NFL Network and in podcasts with his former mentor and new North Carolina head coach, Bill Belichick, and Michael Lombardi.
\nLions fans who also follow Michigan football might have no issue booing Patricia this November in Ann Arbor.<\/p>\n
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ALLEN PARK \u2014 Matt Patricia, the former head coach of the Detroit Lions, is now the defensive coordinator for the Ohio State Buckeyes, the team confirmed on Thursday. Just a couple of years ago, this would have been an unimaginable announcement. However, Patricia is heading to Columbus to join head coach Ryan Day’s staff after […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26472,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[378],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-detroit-lions"],"yoast_head":"\n