Ohio State Buckeyes defensive coordinator Matt Patricia drew some interest from NFL teams this past cycle.
However, Patricia is staying in Columbus. Now, he has landed a big new contract. He is set to earn $3.75 million in 2026, and the contract will bump up slightly to $3.85 million in 2027 and 2028, making him the highest-paid coordinator in college football.
Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia will make $3.75 million in 2026 – making him the highest-paid coordinator in college football – as part of a new three-year contract with Ohio State.
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) March 10, 2026
Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith will make $1.5 million in 2026 and $2M in 2027.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said Patricia had “options,” but he chose to remain with the Buckeyes.
“Did he have options? Yes. But I think he found a lot of joy in making an impact on these guys’ lives at a different point in their lives than what he was used to in the NFL,” Day said, via Dan Hope of Eleven Warriors. “And so we were able to work something out to keep him here.”
Ohio State hired Patricia in 2025 after Jim Knowles left for the same job at Penn State in a surprising move.
Ohio State had the top defense in the nation in Patricia’s first year as DC, so now he gets a massive new deal despite NFL buzz.
Patricia spent over a decade as an assistant coach on Bill Belichick’s staff with the New England Patriots before the Detroit Lions hired him as the head coach in 2018.
Patricia went just 13-29-1 in less than three full seasons with Detroit, and he was fired midway through the 2020 campaign.
The Patriots brought Patricia back for two seasons as an assistant before he spent 2023 wth the Philadelphia Eagles, but he has found a home with Ohio State and is making big money in the process.
Ohio State also hired Arthur Smith, the former Atlanta Falcons head coach who spent the previous two seasons as the OC for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
