The Ohio State football program was expected to take a step back on defense this season after losing Jim Knowles. Knowles had the Buckeyes ranked at the top of every major category en route to them winning a national championship. Replacing him was supposed to be hard.
Instead, the Buckeyes seem to have upgraded. While Jim Knowles is now at his third school in three years, the Ohio State Buckeyes hired Matt Patricia as the defensive coordinator before this year started. All Patricia did was make the Ohio State defense even better.
With Ohio State's season now over and the NFL regular season finished, rumors are swirling that Patricia could be looking at coordinator jobs in the NFL. It looks like the Buckeyes are determined to keep him in Columbus for the next few years if some rumors are to be believed.
Ohio State football team rumored to be offering massive contract extension to Matt Patricia
There are rumors swirling around that the Buckeyes are trying everything they can to keep Patricia in Columbus for an extended period of time. There are rumors of them offering something in the realm of a three-year, $9 million contract extension. That would certainly be a hefty deal.
Ryan Day was clearly pleased with what he saw from Patricia this season, even if the defense faltered late against Indiana and Miami. Had the offense been better, the Buckeyes would have been able to beat both of those teams. Patricia is beloved by his players, and keeping him should be a priority.
It's unclear if an NFL team would make an offer to Patricia that he would not be able to refuse. There is no shortage of defensive coordinator positions available after Black Monday, so there's a shot that Patricia decides to leave the Buckeyes after just one year.
If he does decide to leave, it won't be because Ohio State cheaped out on an offer to him.