Greg Mattison of the University of Michigan has been named Ohio State’s new co-defensive coordinator along with Jeff Hafley. Credit: Courtesy of TNS
A year ago, Greg Mattison was preparing for his eighth season with Michigan, coaching a defensive line that would be crucial for the No. 2 total defense in the nation.
Now, ahead of his first Spring Game as co-defensive coordinator for Ohio State, the 48-year coaching veteran has been tasked with revitalizing a Buckeye defense that allowed a program-worst 403.4 yards per game the previous season.
“Kind of a funny thing, [former players] will be like, ‘Hey coach, I never thought I’d see you in red,’” Mattison said. “Well it’s funny because my wife says I look really, really good in red.”
He won’t be the only new coach in red, as Mattison is one of four new defensive coaches for Ohio State this season.
Though first-year head coach Ryan Day assembled several new faces to helm the defense, many of these coaches hold connections dating back years.
Joining Mattison at co-defensive coordinator this season will be Jeff Hafley, who brings an NFL pedigree with his past six seasons spent as a secondary coach at the professional level. In 2016, Hafley worked alongside Day on the San Francisco 49ers coaching staff.
As the secondary coach for the Buckeyes, Hafley inherits a collection of defensive backs that ranked No. 86 in the NCAA with 245.2 passing yards allowed per game this past season.
Ohio State redshirt senior cornerback Damon Arnette and junior cornerback Jeffrey Okudah will lead a group that was routinely plagued by pass interference calls last season.
Mattison said Hafley’s NFL experience won’t conflict schematically with his knowledge of college defense.
“There are only so many things, I believe, in really sound defensive football that you can do,” Mattison said. “Whether you’re in the NFL, wherever, coaching. It’s never been schemes that have won. It’s what you teach the players to run, and who’s running them.”
New Ohio State linebackers coach Al Washington is a familiar face for both Mattison and Day. Washington coached three Michigan linebackers to All-Big Ten honors last season and played at Boston College while Day served as a graduate assistant there.
The Wolverine ties do not end there, as Day hired former Michigan defensive analyst Matt Barnes as the new special teams coordinator and assistant secondary coach.
Barnes spent the past three seasons coaching special teams, secondary and linebackers for Maryland and helped develop second team All-American linebacker Tre Watson.
Barnes and Hafley have already proved they can collaborate productively, combining the safety and cornerback rooms to shore up the defense in 2018.
Hafley said the players have had no problems adjusting to four new coaches on the defense.
“The great part about these guys is they’re just buying into everything we tell them,” Hafley said. “They are trying it. They’re coming out. They’re asking questions.”
The only constant on the Buckeye defensive coaching staff is Larry Johnson, who Mattison called “one of, if not, the best defensive line coach in college football.”
Johnson’s six seasons with Ohio State have yielded five All-American selections on the defensive line, including 2019 NFL Draft hopefuls Dre’Mont Jones and Nick Bosa in the past two years.
Junior defensive end Chase Young has a chance to become Johnson’s sixth All-American this year, coming off a season that saw Young rack up 9.5 sacks, with four coming in the final two games.
When integrating so many new coaches on one side of the ball, Mattison said it’s easy when everyone shares a common goal.
“The staff is not a staff made up of a bunch of egos,” Mattison said. “This staff here is truly a staff that truly wants Ohio State football and the players we’re dealing with to be the very, very best they can be. And you feel that every day you come in.”
