Ryan Day’s most recent hires have been home runs. His latest in Matt Patricia has energized his program and made the Buckeyes the team to beat as the calendar turns to November.
Columbus, OH – The past four seasons continue to reveal the growth of Ohio State head coach Ryan Day as a leader. His study of the greats, his desire for feedback from those around him, his ability to adapt are the evidence.
Day’s coaching hires are proof. This year’s best-in-the-nation, Matt Patricia-led defense is the strongest proof yet.
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Starting in 2022, the sun shined brightly on Day every time he hired a coordinator, but the success hasn’t been an accident or luck. He paid Jim Knowles handsomely to lead his defense in 2022 when Knowles was the trendy genius choice. He persuaded old friend Chip Kelly to join him for a last hurrah to lead last year’s offense.
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The payoff: Day’s first national championship.
This year, Day promoted Brian Hartline to lead the offense. So far, so great. But when Knowles unexpectedly bolted after the championship game, the dark clouds threatened to move in. But then … Matt Patricia.
That a coach of Patricia’s caliber was available was the break in the clouds Day needed because the coaching change cycle was all but complete when Knowles left. But Day, who wasn’t afraid to hire a failed NFL head coach, didn’t hire Patricia without consulting his staff and some of his best players. He showed all leadership doesn’t have to be top-down to be effective.
Day went to linebacker Sonny Styles and safety Caleb Downs and told them Patricia might be the guy. He wanted their opinions, to give them some ownership in important decisions.
“The fact is that Matt was available. It ended up being a home run.” – Ryan Day
“Me and Caleb were both all for it,” Styles said. “We knew he was a great coach. We knew he had great success in the past, and, obviously, it’s been the right decision.”
Has it ever.
“The fact that Matt was available, man, it ended up being a home run,” Day said.
Downs and Styles lead a unit – one many are calling the best unit defense or offense in the nation – that allows only 5.9 points per game, the fewest in the nation. They allow the fewest yards in the nation (216.9) by almost 20 fewer than the next best in the nation (Iowa). They figure to be as dominant as ever Saturday for the No. 1 Buckeyes against struggling Penn State and inexperienced quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer, almost fresh out of Olentangy High School.
When Day hired Patricia, he had a major condition. The rest of the defensive staff would stay. He had continuity with Hartline on offense, and he wanted as much as possible on defense. Patricia was an easy sell.
Who wouldn’t want the legendary Larry Johnson coaching his defensive line. Or former Buckeye and NFL linebacker James Laurinaitis coaching the linebackers. Or Tim Walton, with NFL experience, and the up-and-coming Matt Guerreri coaching up the secondary.
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“That’s probably the part that maybe isn’t getting recognized enough,” Day said. “Yeah, Jim did a great job last year. Matt’s doing a great job this year. What’s the common denominator? Those coaches and the players. We have the best defensive coaching staff in America, and I think sometimes they don’t get recognized enough.”
Like all accomplished leaders, Day pays attention to the habits of great leaders. He noticed how Nick Saban replaced coordinator after coordinator and kept winning championships.
“All those great runs that he made each year, he would have guys picked off of his staff, and then he was very thorough about how he hired the next one,” Day said. “Making sure that in that moment we’re not rushing to make a decision. And I think you saw that with Matt.
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“There was a lag time between when Jim left and when we hired Matt where I think a lot of people were like, ‘Man, is he going to hire one here pretty soon?’ Just being thorough and making sure we’re doing what’s right by the players.”
That’s why Day didn’t make the decision alone.
“Feedback is important,” he said. “Talking to Caleb, talking to Sonny, ‘What do you guys think about this?’ And then the last part, which is probably the most important part, is getting the feedback of the assistant coaches.”
Patricia’s leadership style hasn’t been unlike Day’s. He valued the opinions of his assistants. Much more of a people person than Knowles, he went out of his way to get to know the players well.
Therefore, he didn’t force a template of everything he wanted the defense to be. He matched talent and experience with appropriate schemes. Fortunately for Patricia, he has players like Downs, Styles and linebacker Arvell Reese with high football IQs to build his schemes around.
“If somebody is a really, really good football player, but maybe a non-fit schematically, do you add them to the team? You always want to acquire talent the best you can,” Day said. “It’s the coaches’ job to put them in a position to be successful. Now you’re seeing different guys with different skill sets who can do versatile things.”
Perhaps the biggest change is a departure from a four-man front on every play because the linebackers are so good. Four linemen is still a common alignment, but the different fronts allow for players like Reese to do more things. It’s more for a quarterback to decipher. And it’s a different world of ideas for Johnson to coach in.
“It’s given him a little bit of a challenge to learn something new,” Day said. “It has re-energized him.”
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Seven games in, however, is not nearly enough of a season for Day to allow complacency. Last year he often said that when the season ended, then it would be time to tell the story. He’s sticking to that script about Patricia and a defense no one outside the building can find a fault with.
But Day did say why, ultimately, it’s all working so well, so far.
“We still have a lot of football to play, so the story’s yet to be told, but I think it’s a simple answer,” he said.
“It’s not easy to do, but you have to build trust. And how do you build trust? Coming in, he had a certain level of credibility because of his past and his resume. But when he came in and he let his personality go and connected with the people in the building, that’s what gave him some early wins.”
And Day, like good leaders do, got out of the way and let it happen.
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