According to a report from NBCSports.com, Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano is expected to interview for the soon-to-be-vacated defensive coordinator position of the New England Patriots after the season.
Current Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia has accepted the head coaching position for the Detroit Lions and will be leaving New England after Sunday’s Super Bowl between the Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Schiano and New England head coach Bill Belichick have known each other for years, and Schiano’s name was one of the first to come up once Patricia accepted the Lions’ job weeks ago.
Late last fall, Schiano accepted the head coaching job at the University of Tennessee, but the terms of the agreement quickly fell apart after the Tennessee fan base went ballistic on social media.
Schiano finished up his second season as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator in 2017, leading a unit that finished No. 9 in total defense in the nation.
This current Schiano report comes a little over a week after OSU cornerbacks coach Kerry Coombs accepted an assistant coaching position with the NFL’s Tennessee Titans.
Early in January, Urban Meyer hired Washington State defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, though Grinch’s title and responsibilities are still unknown at this point.
If Schiano does leave for New England, the Ohio State defensive staff will be significantly different than it was in 2017, with only defensive line coach Larry Johnson having more than one year accrued on Meyer’s full-time staff.