Today’s Topic: How is Ohio State’s Defensive Staff Meshing?
When Ryan Day set about putting his defensive coaching staff together, he wanted a good mix of “young” and “old.” And in hiring three coaches he had coached with before — and one he had coached against — he also wanted some familiarity.
Having that familiarity with his hires gave him a pretty good idea of how well they would mesh. He knew their personalities fairly well and believed their temperaments were all in line with each other.
It also didn’t hurt that two of them — Greg Mattison and Al Washington — were already working together.
But bringing in Jeff Hafley as co-defensive coordinator from the San Francisco 49ers, and assistant secondary coach Matt Barnes from Maryland, there was still going to be a period of getting to know each other.
The coaching staff met together when they could when they first arrived, but most of those days were spent on the road recruiting.
When they were able to meet, however, their interactions were essentially what Ryan Day was looking for when he made his hires.
“It’s been great so far,” Barnes said. “I had the opportunity to work with Coach Mattison in the past, so I can’t tell you how much football I learned from Coach during that experience. A lot of smart people in the room, and I think Coach Hafley mentioned it before, but it’s the full-time staff members all the way down to the GA’s and the QC’s, and no idea is a bad idea. And when the door is closed, a lot of opinions are being talked through, and at the end of the day, we make a decision and we go full speed ahead with it.”
Now that the 2019 recruiting hay is in the barn, the staff can really get into the 2019 season and their preparation for spring football.
The hours aren’t any shorter inside the WHAC, cloistered in meeting rooms and talking about personnel while devising ways to best put them on the field, but at least the coaches get to go home at night.
And even a new staff spends enough time together just in their first few months to feel like long-time colleagues.
There are also enough meetings to understand where everyone is coming from and everybody’s own personal football philosophies.
“The dynamic has been awesome so far,” Barnes said. “And for me as a little bit younger coach, it’s afforded me the opportunity to learn from some great minds, so it’s been — so far it’s been unbelievable.”