Ohio State to hire former NFL head coach as defensive coordinator

Guerrieri will be passing game coordinator along with safeties coach while Walton will add co-defensive coordinator to his titles after serving as assistant head coach, secondary coach and cornerbacks coach last season.

The moves were first reported by WBNS TV in Columbus.

Patricia, 50, is a career NFL coach who last worked in the college ranks in 2003, when he was a graduate assistant at Syracuse.

He left that post to become assistant offensive line coach for the New England Patriots then worked his way up to the team’s defensive coordinator.

He had that title under head coach Bill Belichick from 2012-17 after coaching the team’s linebackers then safeties.

In Patricia’s time with New England, the Patriots won three Super Bowls (2004, 2014 and ’16).

He also served as head coach of the Detroit Lions from 2018-2020 but was fired after posting a 13-29-1 record.

Patricia then went back to New England for a year as an assistant on the offensive side of the ball then spent 2023 on the staff of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Knowles was Ohio State’s defensive coordinator for three years, helping elevate the unit from a weakness to a strength in that time. It served as the backbone for the Buckeyes’ ninth national championship last season, but now the Ohio State defense will be under new management after he opted to leave for Penn State last month.

Patricia will inherit a unit that loses the entire defensive line, standout linebacker Cody Simon and three starting defensive backs.

He will be able to build around safety Caleb Downs, who is regarded as one of the best defensive players in the country, along with linebacker Sonny Styles and cornerback Davison Igbinosun.

Ohio State is set to begin spring football March 17, about two weeks later than usual as a result of the 2024 season not ending until the win over Notre Dame in the National Championship Game on Jan. 20.