Former Detroit Lions Coach Matt Patricia Becomes Buckeyes’ New Defensive Coordinator
A former Detroit Lions coach has found a new home for the 2025 football season.
Matt Patricia, who was the Lions’ head coach from 2018-20, is finalizing a deal to join the Ohio State coaching staff as defensive coordinator under head coach Ryan Day, according to reports.
Day and the Buckeyes are coming off a national title and have lost both coordinators, as offensive coordinator Chip Kelly has returned to the NFL and Jim Knowles left for Penn State.
Sources: Ohio State is finalizing a deal to hire Matt Patricia as the school’s new defensive coordinator. Patricia was an NFL head coach with the Lions and longtime DC with the New England Patriots. pic.twitter.com/NdCTsCMVBz
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 12, 2025
Patricia becomes the latest former NFL coach to take a job at the collegiate level, as Bill Belichick is the head coach at North Carolina and Ron Rivera took an analyst job at California.
In parts of three seasons with the Lions, Patricia amassed a 13-29-1 record. He was fired following the team’s Thanksgiving loss to the Houston Texans in 2020 and was replaced in 2021 by Dan Campbell.
Under Campbell, the Lions have become one of the league’s best teams over the last four seasons. Detroit is 39-28-1 under Campbell in his tenure.
Prior to coming to Detroit, Patricia gained acclaim as Belichick’s defensive coordinator with the New England Patriots from 2012-17. In that time span, the Patriots won three Super Bowls.
Following his departure from Detroit, Patricia returned to the Patriots first as a senior football advisor in 2021 then added offensive line coach duties to his title the following year. In 2023, he was a senior defensive analyst for the Philadelphia Eagles. He was promoted to defensive coordinator late in the season after Sean Desai was fired.
