While the Philadelphia Eagles are still celebrating their dominant Super Bowl victory, the disappointment from the 2023 season is still fresh in the fanbase's mind. Vic Fangio completely revamped the Eagles defense and turned it into one of the best units in the league. Eagles fans remember all too well the epic collapse on that side of the ball only a year ago.
One of the architects of that disaster was Matt Patricia. After starting the season as the senior defensive assistant, Patricia eventually replaced Sean Desai as the defensive playcaller. The defense showed no improvement under him and the Eagles flamed out in the wild-card round of the playoffs with a 32-9 loss to the Bucs.
Now, much to the surprise of all Eagles fans, Patricia gets another high-profile opportunity. Per ESPN's Pete Thamel, the former Lions head coach and Patriots assistant, will take over as Ohio State's defensive coordinator.
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
Ohio State Hires Matt Patricia as New Defensive Coordinator
Ohio State had to make a few changes to its coaching staff after the national championship. Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles was hired as Penn State's defensive coordinator, creating a vacancy that is now being filled by Patricia.
After failing with the Eagles, Patricia spent last year away from football. He hasn't coached at the collegiate level since he was an offensive graduate assistant at Syracuse in 2003. He was able to find some success in Bill Belichick's staff in New England, holding various positions on the way to three Super Bowl wins.
Patricia's track record outside of the Patriots, however, is highly questionable. Whether he will be able to turn his career around with the Buckeyes remains to be seen.