Ohio State Buckeyes defensive coordinator Matt Patricia's commitment to the Buckeyes is very important for the short and long term of Ohio State.
On Monday afternoon, the Columbus Dispatch reported that Ohio State's defensive coordinator Matt Patricia inked a deal to remain the coordinator in Columbus.
Athletic Director Ross Bjork commented on the extension, saying, "he was always committed to staying here."
His commitment to staying in Columbus with this staff and this young team is, in my eyes, incredibly significant. The trend in College Football is that the coordinator position is a stepping stone to get back to the top. For the young up-and-coming guys, they use success at a big school to prove they can be a head coach somewhere, someday.
In Patricia's situation, he was using Ohio State as a therapy stop in his career before he went back to the NFL. Or at least that's what I thought.
It was evident from the first day that he was out on the turf with the team that it meant way more to him than just a stepping stone. Every Saturday, you could tell that there was a genuine connection from him to all of the players.
The moment that stood out to me amongst all of the others was after the UCLA game, when the Buckeyes rolled to a really nice 48-10 victory over the Bruins. It was in this game that superstar wide receiver Jeremiah Smith appeared to be a mortal for the first time as a Buckeye.
He was clearly battling an injury, and after the first quarter, the wide receiver exited the game with a leg injury. He could hardly move on the sideline, and the trip from the bench to the locker room was a painful one.
As he limped across the turf, the coach put his arm under him to help him to the locker room
Yep, Matt Patricia.
That always stuck with me because that showed the outside world that he has a legitimate relationship with all of his players, not just the defensive players.
All of that would be for naught if he didn't build the best defense in the country. His unit on the defensive side of the football was as good as it gets. Just about any way you slice the 2025 defensive statistics, the Buckeyes were a top-10 group.
They were the best team in the country in terms of yards per game and scoring defense, which are obviously the two most important categories.
Week after week, opposing coaches and opposing quarterbacks were left confused about what the Buckeyes were doing on that side of the ball. They left the stadium on Saturdays bruised and battered physically and dejected mentally because they were unable to solve the puzzle.
Patricia really feels like he found a home in Columbus and has broken a real trend in the coaching ranks, and it is a very positive thing to see for a coach like Ryan Day who is constantly getting his coaches poached.