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When the state of Ohio opens the 2021 college football season, Buckeye’s staff will look different. The Head Coach Ryan day On Friday speaking to the media for the first time this offseason announced that the defensive co-coordinator Greg Mattison will retire at the end of the month.
While Mattison only coached the Scarlet and Gray for two seasons, his retirement ends a nearly 50-year coaching career that has seen the Maidson, Wis., Native succeed at every level. After seven years at Michigan, his second stint with rivals the Buckeyes, Day brought Mattison to Columbus in 2019 not only to help correct a struggling defense, but also to mentor a new head coach.
Mattison was successful on both levels.
“He’s a special guy,” Day said of Mattison on Friday. “He and Ann, his wife, have been so gracious to Nina and I, helping us through our first two years as a head coach and his career speaks for itself. What he did and accomplished on the pitch, but mostly what he did off the pitch. The relationship and respect he has across the country as one of the best coaches and the impact he has had on so many people. So I can’t thank him enough for what he did.
“I think his first year coming here with Jeff (Hafley), the way they got along and put that together, and it was different. It was a different pattern from what had happened the year before. And within a year I got that in the field, performing at a high level. And then him and Kerry, Larry being in the room this year, making that transition… We made it. I mean, we only lost two games and a lot of that has to do with Greg.
In Mattison’s first year on the Ohio staff, Buckeye’s defense experienced a major turnaround, from the 71st ranked defense in 2018 to the nation’s best defense the following season. The switch to the one-height Cover-3 look in Day’s first year as a head coach not only led to the turnaround, but saw three high school members selected in the NFL Draft, two in the first. tower.
Mattison, who worked with inside linebackers and helped lead Scarlet and Gray’s top seven, oversaw a running defense that was in the top 10 in each of his two years.
With Mattison’s departure, the state of Ohio will have a number of choices in terms of where to go and, according to Day, will explore all possibilities.
“I think we have a really good group of guys out there right now who are versatile,” the head coach said of his team. “And so we’re going to look at all the options. Is there someone else who can take Greg’s place in the same role as him or are we just going to move some things around and reassign some of the job descriptions? It’s all on the table and we’re working on it now and looking at all the different options.
“So no, I’m not really determined what that role is exactly. I just want to put together the best group to give our defending guys the best chance to succeed.
As it is, Kerry Coombs is set to lead the Buckeye defense for a second straight year after returning to the program ahead of the 2020 season. Defensive Line Coach Larry johnson, linebacker coach Al Washington and safety coach / coordinator of special teams Matt barnes will all be back in the defensive staff. Barnes, an underrated part of that staff, could be given a bigger role or a new title as part of the changes this offseason. But a new coach will still have to be hired.
With Mattison retiring, Day now has the opportunity to make a significant addition to the staff after Scarlet and Gray were defensively inconsistent in 2020. While the race defense has remained strong, the State of the Ohio is ranked 43rd nationally in scoring defense and 122nd nationally in passing defense.
Against the best passing attacks the Buckeyes team has faced, the defense conceded 491 yards to Indiana, 400 yards to Clemson and 464 yards in the air at Alabama. Despite the defensive struggles, the Scarlet and Gray won a fourth consecutive Big Ten Championship and made it to the National Championship game, but were exposed in both college football playoff games.
“I thought we did a good job against Clemson. I think our guys played well, we created some turnovers and they played really well, ”Day said. “I thought we played well, for the most part, against Northwestern. We didn’t play very well against Indiana and there were times at the start of the season where it just didn’t look like it should and then it all peaked at the end against Alabama.
Put simply, the Ohio State’s pass defense wasn’t good enough last season and, even against an all-time big offense for Crimson Tide, high school shortcomings likely cost the Buckeyes the national championship. It will be up to Day to make the necessary changes this offseason.
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While the more normal offseason and regular season should help what was a relatively new secondary a year ago continue to develop, the Scarlet and Gray need to assess the defensive pattern as well. While the simple safety look has worked so well with NFL talent like Jeff Okudah, Damon arnette and Jordan fuller in high school two seasons ago, this look didn’t have the same effect with different players in 2020. And when Ohio State came to the Playoffs, the Buckeyes moved away more often from the team’s basic defense against the better teams.
Day admitted that deciding where to go next with the defensive system will be a priority this offseason, and whoever gets hired to replace Mattison could give an indication of what the defense will look like in 2021.
“I think to bring in someone who knows that style of defense – and again, over the course of the season, we weren’t just in there,” Day said. “We went to top two stuff, we went to a little more pressure and so it’s going to evolve. But yes, anyone with experience in low four and high four defense would definitely be faster. But also bringing in someone who has a little more diverse backgrounds might give us a different perspective in areas where we can both maximize what we have. And I think that’s what’s important.
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