Ohio State’s new defensive coordinator hire seems to have sparked something in its longstanding rivalry with Michigan.
The Buckeyes have lost four straight games against the Wolverines, a fact that still stings OSU fans, even after the program just won the national championship. Head coach Ryan Day cooled off his hot seat considerably by winning the title, but there’s still going to be pressure on him to beat Michigan in 2025.
On Wednesday, news broke that Day was finalizing a deal with Matt Patricia to replace Jim Knowles as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator. Patricia, 50, is perhaps best known for his work as defensive coordinator for the New England Patriots under Bill Belichick.
However, from 2018-2020, he was the head coach of the Detroit Lions, where he went 13-29-1 and feuded with several of the team’s best players. To say Patricia’s brief tenure in the Motor City was a disaster would be kind.
Because there’s a significant overlap of the Michigan and Lions fanbases, many Maize and Blue supporters have been mocking the Buckeyes over the Patricia hire.
“HAVE FUN OHIO,” one person said sarcastically.
“LMFAOOOOOOOOO ENJOY HIM,” another fan added.
“If Matt Patricia has a million haters I’m one of them. If he has 1000 haters I’m one of them. If he has 1 hater it’s me. If he has 0 haters it means I have left this world,” a third fan chimed in.
“Oh buddy, Ryan Day, you have no idea what you’ve done to this state. The Ohio State rivalry was getting boring. We appreciate you igniting a flame!” a fourth Michigan fan said.
“Didn’t know I could hate OSU anymore. Thank god he’s the worst coach I’ve ever laid my eyes on,” another fan said.
To be fair to Patricia, just because he failed at leading the Lions doesn’t mean he’s going to come up short running the OSU defense.
It is clear though that the animosity many Michigan fans already feel toward him will only further fuel the rivalry.
This is undoubtedly a good thing and part of what makes college football so much fun.
Related: Ohio State Hiring Failed NFL Head Coach As Defensive Coordinator