Matt Patricia reportedly set to be hired as defensive coordinator at Ohio State
FOXBORO -- Former Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia is back in football, reportedly set to take a new job in the college ranks. But Patricia will not be joining Bill Belichick's staff at the University of North Carolina.
Patricia is instead set to lead the defense of the defending National Champion Ohio State Buckeyes as their new defensive coordinator, according to Pete Thamel of ESPN. The 50-year-old will replace Jim Knowles, who left Ohio State last month to become the defensive coordinator at Penn State.
Patricia began his coaching career in the college game, starting as a graduate assistant for his alma mater, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in 1996. He then spent a few years away football as an engineer before taking over as the defensive line coach at Amherst College in 1999 and 2000. After three years as a graduate assistant at Syracuse, Patricia got his break in the NFL with Belichick and the New England Patriots.
Matt Patricia with the Patriots
Patricia began his NFL career as an assistant offensive line coach for the Patriots in 2004, and moved over to the defensive side of the ball in 2006 when he was promoted to linebackers coach. He coached New England safeties in 2011 before getting his shot as the team's defensive coordinator in 2012.
The Patriots won a pair of Super Bowls with Patricia as their DC in 2014 and 2016. Overall, he has three Super Bowl rings from his time in New England.
Patricia was in charge of the New England defense when Malcolm Butler made his Super Bowl-saving interception against the Seattle Seahawks in 2014. The Patriots had the NFL's top defense in 2016 under Patricia, when the team held opponents to just 15.6 points per game en route to a Super Bowl comeback victory over the Atlanta Falcons.
The Patriots made the playoffs in each of Patricia's six seasons as defense coordinator.
He parlayed his success with the Patriots into a head-coaching job with the Detroit Lions, but that didn't go so well for Patricia. The Lions went just 13-29 before he was fired 11 games into the 2020 season.
Patricia returned to New England in 2021 as a senior football advisor, and then had a failed attempt as the team's offensive play-caller/unofficial offensive coordinator in 2022. His last NFL job was as a senior defensive assistant with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023.
Patricia got into the media during his time away from football, co-hosting the web series "Coach" will Bill Belichick while also making appearances on WBZ-TV's Sports Final on Sunday nights. Now, Patricia is heading back to college to lead the defense of the defending champions.
