Ohio State is set to hire former Detroit Lions coach Matt Patricia as its defensive coordinator, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The source spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday under anonymity since the deal had not yet been made public.
Buckeyes coach Ryan Day, who guided Ohio State to a national championship, agreed in principle last year to a seven-year contract worth $12.5 million annually.
Day is bringing in Patricia to replace Jim Knowles, who departed to take the same position at Penn State.
Patricia, 50, previously served as a Super Bowl-winning defensive coordinator under Bill Belichick in New England and is getting another shot at coaching after being let go by the Philadelphia Eagles last year.
He took over defensive play-calling duties for Philadelphia late in the 2023 season but was dismissed following their first-round playoff loss to Tampa Bay.
The Lions fired Patricia midway through the 2020 season after he compiled a 13-29-1 record over two-plus years as head coach.
Patricia returned to New England in 2021 as Belichick’s assistant head coach and took on roles as the Patriots’ offensive line coach and senior advisor in 2022.
He previously spent 14 seasons on Belichick’s staff, including six as defensive coordinator, ending with his unit surrendering 41 points and 538 yards in a Super Bowl loss to Philadelphia seven years ago.
He earned an aeronautical engineering degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he played as a center and guard.
While considering his career options, Patricia worked as an aeronautical engineer for two years.
His coaching journey began as a graduate assistant at RPI, followed by leading the defensive line at Amherst College and working as a graduate assistant at Syracuse before Belichick hired him as an offensive assistant in 2004.
