Ohio State Retains Defensive Coordinator Matt Patricia on Lucrative New Contract

Patricia faces challenge of rebuilding Buckeyes' defense after losing multiple starters

Mar. 23, 2026 at 11:35am

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Ohio State has retained defensive coordinator Matt Patricia on a new lucrative contract after his successful first season with the Buckeyes in 2025. Despite interest from the NFL, Patricia elected to stay in Columbus, citing the importance of family and relationships as well as the opportunity to work with talented young players. However, Patricia faces the challenge of replacing multiple starters on defense and addressing some of the unit's issues from last season, including a lack of havoc plays.

Why it matters

Patricia's return provides stability and continuity for the Ohio State defense, which was statistically one of the best in the country in 2025. However, the Buckeyes struggled at times in big games, raising questions about their ability to create turnovers and pressure the quarterback. Rebuilding the defense with so many key departures will be a major test for Patricia in his second season.

The details

After a successful first season as Ohio State's defensive coordinator, Matt Patricia had options to return to the NFL. However, he decided to stay in Columbus, citing the importance of family and relationships as well as the opportunity to work with talented young players. Ohio State rewarded Patricia with a raise to $3.75 million per year, making him the highest-paid coordinator in the country. While the Buckeyes' defense was statistically dominant in 2025, ranking first in yards and points allowed per game, they struggled to create havoc plays and showed some cracks in big games. Patricia and the coaching staff will need to find a better balance between pressure and preventing explosive plays as they work to rebuild a defense that lost eight starters, several of whom could be high NFL Draft picks.

  • Ohio State's 2025 season ended with a loss in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal.
  • Spring practice is currently underway for the Buckeyes as they prepare for the 2026 season.

The players

Matt Patricia

The defensive coordinator at Ohio State who previously won three Super Bowls as an assistant coach with the New England Patriots and had a stint as the head coach of the Detroit Lions.

Ryan Day

The head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team.

Caleb Downs

A key defensive starter for Ohio State who is departing after the 2025 season.

Davison Igbinosun

Another key defensive starter for Ohio State who is leaving after the 2025 season.

Sonny Styles

A talented defensive player for Ohio State who is among the multiple starters the Buckeyes must replace on that side of the ball.

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What they’re saying

“When you get around Matt, you quickly learned how important family is to him and relationships are to him. And to see his personality come out, to see the side of Matt that we all know has been excellent, and with the staff, with the players. But Ohio State's a great place to be. The city of Columbus is tremendous; it's a great place to have a family. He has a young family, and his family loves it here. The community has embraced them, which was important.”

— Ryan Day, Head Coach, Ohio State Buckeyes

“Obviously, we've got to go in and we've got to win. So we've got to go back and get stuff fixed and take a look at the problems and see what those issues were and make sure those are corrected going forward from a scheme standpoint. And really just take a look at the progression of the players that we have. The young guys that have grown this year and how much they've done and put a plan together to make sure they're continuing to improve as we go forward. I mean, that's the biggest thing is just making sure that – it's a very young group and I'm proud of how much success they've had and how hard they've worked. But certainly as a team and what we want to do as a defense, it's not the goal. It's not what we're looking for. We want to go win.”

— Matt Patricia, Defensive Coordinator, Ohio State Buckeyes

What’s next

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The takeaway

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