It’s a new dawn for the Ohio State Buckeyes! After a championship-winning season, the only thing on Ryan Day’s mind is another trophy. However, with multiple departures and a roster overhaul, things can get dicey. Especially if you count in big names like Jim Knowles leaving. However, Day looks ready. He’d already brought in former Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia to the team early this year. But how is Patricia going to carry forward the legacy left by his predecessor? Moreover, what does his rapport with his defense look like off the field?

For the unversed: Patricia has some shining records as an NFL defensive coordinator. While he was a part of the New England Patriots from 2004-2017 and 2021-2022, Patricia served as a DC in the team from  2012 to 2017, and even won three Super Bowls during his 15-year tenure. However, his time at Detroit (2018-20) can be described as sour. With the Lions, where he served as a head coach, the team was only able to finish with a 13-29-1 record over three seasons. So, as expected, an Ohio State inclusion wasn’t very well received by fans. Many believe Patricia might not be the right fit to lead the team’s defense. Additionally, filling Knowles’ shoes is a tall order, isn’t it? Well, it’s best that we don’t reach any conclusions so early, as Patricia might be resorting to taking some pages out of Jim Knowles’ book, according to Menace 2 Sports.

In a March 23 video, Zach Smith discussed how the new DC was approaching the 2025 season. “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,” Smith mentioned before adding, how Matt 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.”

Yet, Knowles’ departure is surely going to sting. As per CBS Sports, the decision might have got to do a lot with Ryan Day “who inserted himself in defensive meetings more often this season and asked for changes to be made midway through the season”. Especially after the Bucks’ 32-31 loss at Oregon in Week 7, the HC took special interest in Knowles’ shenanigans, which is nothing unusual. However, as per sources, it reached a point where Day, who has previously worked as an offensive coordinator, was reportedly “breathing down his neck” with clashing attitudes and ideas. On the field, though, the pair was still electric.

The defense allowed just 9.7 points per game after the Week 7 loss for the remainder of the regular season, including the 13-10 loss to Michigan in the finale. What’s more? In the playoffs, the team pulled off double-digit wins in all four rounds, which also includes a 34-23 victory over Notre Dame in the national title game. Want to hear the irony?

Knowles join that same Penn State as a DC, thanks to a higher payday (around $3.1 million over Ohio State’s $2.2 million) and reportedly higher autonomy. And he’s solely focused on just one thing right now: “My aspiration is to help Penn State win the national championship and be the No. 1 defense in the country.” Looks like Ohio State will have quite a bit to worry about. Will Patricia be able to pull off a lethal counterattack?

Well, the new DC is locked in and ready. “My whole goal is to try to figure out what you do well and how I can put you in the best position to get on the field and do that job well, because if you can play fast and aggressively because I have you playing within your skill set, you’re going to be disruptive as a player and help us win as a defense, win as a team, and we can fit the pieces around it and go from there,” he said.

Top Comment by Tracey Campbell

We beat Notre Dame for the natty…not Penn State. WTF?

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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-bay 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 had reportedly stated.

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.