There's a new sheriff in town on the defensive side of the ball for the Ohio State Buckeyes. That's right, Matt Patricia was hired this winter by Ryan Day to become the team's new defensive coordinator. Once that happened, countless people bashed Day for bringing him to town, which was unfair.
Now, those same people, and others, are ripping Day and Ohio State over how much he's getting paid. On Friday, Patricia's salary leaked to the public, with the team over at Eleven Warriors breaking things down. All in all, he's set to make $2.5 million this upcoming season, making him the highest-paid assistant on Day's staff. Is this an overpay at all?
Matt Patricia will make $2.5 million, Brian Hartline will make $2 million and Tim Walton will make $1.8 million to lead Ohio State’s assistant coach salaries in 2025. https://t.co/thtd5i6qTA
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) May 2, 2025
Ohio State DC Matt Patricia will make $2.5 million with Ohio State in 2025
A quick look on social media shows that plenty of people indeed are ripping the Buckeyes for paying Patricia so much. Patricia was known as a great defensive coach in the NFL, but he just couldn't cut it as a head coach. That's the main reason there's so much negativity surrounding his name.
However, he interviewed well with Day and that's why he's now running the show for the Ohio State defense moving forward. Some Ohio State supporters may continue to question the move, but at the end of the day, people need to continue trusting Day and the decisions he makes.
Last season, the Buckeyes silenced all of their haters out there by putting on a show in the College Football Playoff and winning the national title. However, with that success came some exits, including former DC Jim Knowles making the move from Columbus to Penn State.
That's a decision that still haunts plenty of people, as Knowles jumping ship to a Big Ten rival still feels like a bit of a slap in the face. Of all the teams out there, he had to go to Penn State? Regardless of that, Day made a splash with his decision to hire Patricia and he's going to want to prove plenty of people wrong in 2025. There's now added pressure on him with everyone knowing he's set to make an eye-opening $2.5 million.