ANN ARBOR — It seems a universal truth in Michigan that former Lions coach Matt Patricia, who had a contentious relationship with his players and local media, is persona non grata in these parts.
Patricia, who had a long coaching history with Bill Belichick while at the New England Patriots, spent less than three seasons as Detroit Lions head coach and was fired, along with general manager Bob Quinn, in 2020 after a Thanksgiving Day loss to the Houston Texans. He had a dreary 13-29-1 record with the Lions.
Which makes his return to Metro Detroit all that much more interesting.
The 51-year-old Patricia, who did not coach in 2024, was hired by Ohio State head coach Ryan Day as his defense coordinator this year. Patricia had not coached the college game since 2003 when he was a graduate assistant at Syracuse.
He has built a highly acclaimed defense for the top-ranked, unbeaten Buckeyes that ranks No. 1 nationally in total defense, allowing an average 212.6 yards, and No. 1 in scoring (7.5). The Buckeyes are No. 2 in rush defense (81.4) and pass defense (131.2).
Ohio State, the defending national champion and a lock for the playoff, plays at Michigan (9-2, 7-1 Big Ten) on Saturday in the 121st meeting of the rivalry. The Wolverines are hoping to beat the Buckeyes for a fifth-straight game and potentially earn a spot in the Big Ten title game and playoff.
“He doesn’t really have the best reputation in the state of Michigan,” Michigan tight end and captain Marlin Klein said of Patricia on Monday, drawing laughs, “but he’s done such a great job at Ohio State. They’re the No. 1 defense in the country for a reason. That’s really just all to his credit and his players buying into what he’s trying to do down there. We’re just excited to step on that field on Saturday and really measure ourselves with him and his team.”
At Ohio State, Patricia has been dubbed by Day as the “head coach of the defense” and is popular with the players. After his first spring practice with the Buckeyes, a number of players spoke about how engaging he was with them, and they praised him as a teacher of the game. This was a stark contrast to his departure from the Lions when then-current and former players openly celebrated his firing.
Day, earlier in the season on his radio show, praised Patricia, who replaced Jim Knowles after he left for Penn State, and said he acclimated quickly to the team.
“He was very intelligent, really good with the players, built relationships on the team but also with the staff,” Day said of Patricia during the September radio show. “But then had the background of playing multiple things and could utilize our guys in different ways, so those were all things that played into it. But I think the biggest thing was that Matt’s been able to step into a room that (the coaches) were already there, (and) all four (of the defensive assistant coaches) have embraced him. That’s a huge deal because, to me, staff chemistry is very important.”
Patricia, who still wears his signature pencil behind his right ear when he coaches, has had plenty of talent to work with this season. Edge Arvell Reese is second on the team with 59 tackles and has 6.5 sacks. Safety Caleb Downs has five tackles for loss and two interceptions. Then there’s linebacker Sonny Styles, who leads the team with 62 tackles and has an interception, and defensive end Caden Curry has nine sacks.
“Reese and Downs are excellent players,” Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore said Monday. “Arvell is as elite an edge rusher as we’ve seen all year. Caleb Downs is probably one of the smartest football players in college football. Both those players are elite players that we’ve got to deal with.”
Moore was asked how a Patricia defense at Ohio State differs from Knowles.
“One, those guys play together,” Moore said. “They play really good together. There’s so many different coverages, front variations, blitz variation, and it’s game by game. There’s a story in each game of how he calls the game. It’s not just this game he’s doing this. It’s not just by formation. It’s not just by personnel. It’s by game, so we’ve got to do a good job of identifying that early in the game and figuring out how to play that through all four quarters.”
Michigan’s offense has seen growth and improvement at quarterback with freshman Bryce Underwood, and the run game is averaging 223.0 yards a game, 12th best nationally. The offense, directed by Chip Lindsey in his first season at Michigan, is 40th averaging 418.1 yards a game.
In the Wolverines’ last three games, they’ve had 443 yards at Maryland last Saturday, 496 against Northwestern a week before (their highest output of the season), and 398 against Purdue.
“We’ve faced a lot of great defensive lines throughout the season,” starting left guard and captain Gio El-Hadi said Monday. “They’re a great D-line, (but we) should be ready for whatever they throw at us. They’re going to bring some new stuff, like they always do. No matter what they bring, just fall back on our training and our preparation.”
Lindsey, appearing on the “Inside Michigan Football” radio show Monday night, said he knows Patricia will aim to keep Jordan Marshall and the Wolverines’ run game in check while also trying to keep Underwood on his heels.
“At the end of the day, good defensive coordinators are going to do the best job they can of trying to take away what you do well,” Lindsey said on the show. “This defense is extremely well-coached, and they do what they’re supposed to do. They make you earn everything you’re going to get. It’s going to be one of those old-fashioned football games where you’re going to have to earn everything you can get on both sides.”