Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Greg Mattison and linebackers coach Al Washington watch over warmups before the game against Michigan at Michigan Stadium Nov. 30, 2019. Ohio State won 56-27. Credit: Lantern File Photo
After allowing 52 points to Alabama, the Ohio State defense will have to recuperate without an experienced defensive mind.
Head coach Ryan Day announced Friday that co-defensive coordinator Greg Mattison will retire at the end of January. Serving in the role for Ohio State since 2019 and coaching since the early 1970s, Mattison’s absence paired with the defensive shortcomings last season will leave Day and his staff with decisions on how to move forward.
Day said Mattison has impacted players and coaches alike and that replacing him “won’t be easy.”
“He was just a steady force, just a calming force with a ton of experience and just meant so much to everybody in that room,” Day said Friday. “Somebody that I leaned on just for advice with all his experience.”
Over the past two seasons, the Ohio State defense surrendered 13.7 points per game in the 2019 season and 25.8 in the 2020 campaign.
Following the 2019 season, Day had to fill the loss of former co-defensive coordinator and current Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley.
Current defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs was brought back after a two-year stint with the Tennessee Titans to fill in for Hafley, but Day said replacing Mattison may not involve a direct replacement.
“I think we have a really good group of guys there right now, who are versatile, and so we’re going to look at all options,” Day said. “I’m not really set on this is exactly what the role needs to be, and I want to just put the best group together to go give our guys on defense the best chance to be successful.”
While evaluating what personnel addition would best benefit the defense, Day said he is also looking at the importance of bringing in a defensive mind that shares the philosophies held by the Ohio State defense over the past few years.
Day said a familiarity with the Buckeyes’ scheme is beneficial, but adding a coach with a diverse background may also be a move that could help the defense.
“Anybody who has a background in four-down, single-high defense certainly would fit quicker, but then also bringing in somebody that has a little bit more of a diverse background can give us different perspective in areas where we can both maximize who we have,” Day said. “We try to do that all the time on offense and I think that’s going to be important to what we do on defense is based on who we have that year, what gives us the best chance to be successful?”
After a dominant season defensively in 2019, the Buckeyes struggled at multiple points in the 2020 season.
However, it was not until the national championship game against Alabama that the flaws of the defense proved fatal. Day said there will evaluations made on how the defense stacks up against not only Big Ten competition, but top-tier offenses outside the conference.
“There were times early in the season where it just didn’t look the way it should, and then it all culminated in the end against Alabama,” Day said. “When you’re going against a great passing [offense], what do you need for mix-ups but then what can you execute at a high level, and that’s coaching. I think that’s the delicate balance you weigh as you move on.”
Day said the gap between Ohio State and Alabama is not large and that it would have been larger had the Buckeyes been unable to play the season.
Helping to close the gap will be returning senior defensive tackle Haskell Garrett, who finished the season with four tackles for loss and an interception, and graduate defensive tackle Antwuan Jackson.
“I still think Haskell has a lot of area to grow. He really came on the scene quickly this year. Now with another whole season of preparation, I think he could be one of the better defensive tackles in the country going into next year,” Day said. “I thought our defensive tackles played strong and I think we’re going to have some good depth there.”
Day said that players who chose to return, such as Garrett and Jackson, showed maturity in returning for an extra year in order to prepare more for the NFL.
Speaking to the benefit that a full season will have on player development, Day also noted that the shortened season impacted defensive schematics.
“I think when you look at the number of games we had, you find out a little bit more about your defense, you can experiment with some things a little bit more when you have five or six more games than we did,” Day said. “I think it was a culmination of things there at the end, but certainly things we’ve got to look at as we go into the season and all big time discussions we have to get right going into the fall.”
