According to a report from Marc Givler of BuckeyeGrove.com, Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano will not be returning to the Buckeyes for the 2019 season.
The report coincides with what The-Ozone was told back on Friday.
The 2018 season was Schiano’s third at Ohio State, and it featured a Buckeye defense that allowed 25.5 points per game, which is 10 points more per game than they allowed in his first season.
Schiano’s departure would be the second Ohio State defensive coordinator to leave in a span of just a few days. Alex Grinch left for Oklahoma after just one season with the Buckeyes.
Schiano had agreed in principle to become the head coach at the University of Tennessee last offseason, but that plan fell through after fan backlash.
When asked about his future at Ohio State in the days leading up to the Rose Bowl, Schiano he would like to remain with the Buckeyes.
“I love being here,” he said. “My family loves being here. But, again, anytime there’s a coaching change, whether it’s internal or not, coaches have to – a head coach has to select the staff that he feels gives the team the best chance to win, and whatever Coach Day decides to do, certainly his prerogative.”
If the report is accurate, the Buckeyes would now have two known openings on the defensive staff, and there are reports that Buckeye head coach Ryan Day has reached out to Michigan defensive line coach Greg Mattison, and that Mattison has been receptive.
Ohio State has not confirmed the Schiano report, but official word of some kind is expected from Day soon
[Update, 5:41 pm: Ryan Day has released a statement thanking Schiano and wishing him well as he heads back to the NFL.]
— Ryan Day (@ryandaytime) January 7, 2019
Hopefully, we won’t hear the phrase “We’re really getting close now!” for some time to come.
Best news yet … Schiano is gone!!! I’m sure he’s a fine person, but he lost the defense last year. So I wish him and his family well, but it was time to move on to a new defensive staff.
I’ve got mixed feelings about Mattison. Sure, I guess it’s an upgrade, but what will be his role? He is the current Michigan D-Line coach, and I certainly wouldn’t want him to replace Larry Johnson. Furthermore, I’m not sure I want a guy who couldn’t win a big game or beat his rival. Yea, I know he was Urban’s DC at Florida, but still. It all seems very odd, but again, it’s an upgrade. If Bill Davis is still hanging around then it will all go to hell.
Couldn’t beat his rival because his boss is a clown. It’d be different if Mattison was the head coach there or DC (by the way Dan Brown is an amazing DC), so that worry about a position coach not “beating” their rival doesn’t hold much water. That’d kinda be the same as blaming Larry Johnson for Purdue dropping 62 on the Buckeyes