Matt Patricia became a household name with the Patriots, but his journey to Ohio State football started in New York — where he went from an engineer to a Syracuse graduate assistant.

Ohio State is in the process of hiring Matt Patricia, a longtime assistant and head coach in the NFL, as its defensive coordinator, a source told The Dispatch.

Week 1 isn’t going to be the best version of the 2025 defense. And in the expanded College Football Playoff era, it doesn’t need to be.

Matt Patricia is expected to be named Ohio State football defensive coordinator. Patricia was head coach of the Detroit Lions in 2018-20.

The Buckeyes and coach Ryan Day are in the process of hiring former Detroit Lions head coach and New England Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia to take over for Knowles as defensive coordinator, The Dispatch confirmed Wednesday. REQUIRED READING: Ohio State football set to hire Matt Patricia as defensive coordinator

The Ohio State football team has found their new defensive coordinator as Ryan Day is hiring Matt Patricia to replace Jim Knowles. Knowles left for Penn State after the Buckeyes won the national championship. Now, the Buckeyes are bringing in a DC with a lot of NFL experience, having won three Super Bowls in his career.

Ohio State football released a brief documentary with behind the scenes footage from the College Football Playoff run. Watch it here.