The Ohio State defense take down Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith (6) during the Ohio State vs. Alabama National Championship Game. Alabama won 52-24. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
In the aftermath of a blowout loss and the retirement of its most experienced member, the Ohio State defense made its first step toward recovering for the 2021 season.
Co-defensive coordinator Greg Mattison retired after 49 years of coaching at the end of January; in order to adjust to the loss, head coach Ryan Day promoted special teams coordinator Matt Barnes to the secondary coach. Parker Fleming, who served as the quality control coach for special teams since 2018, was elevated to Barnes’ former position in an effort to promote from within the program.
“Matt Barnes really has done an excellent job in special teams, he has a great background on defense and I think he’s a great young coach,” Day said Wednesday. “We wanted, again, some continuity with what we’re doing on special teams, we’ve done a great job here with special teams, and Parker Fleming is somebody who knows what we do very, very well. He has the respect of our team, and we think that’s a really good move there.”
Day said the decision will give more freedom to defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs, who completed his first season in the position after a two-year stint with the Tennessee Titans. Coombs originally coached at Ohio State from 2012-17.
On the “Ryan Day Show” on 97.1 The Fan Wednesday, Coombs said the decision to elevate current personnel is one that he appreciates.
“I love the fact that our head coach believes in hiring and promoting from within; that’s the way things should be done,” Coombs said. “If you know people and you’ve seen them and you appreciate the quality of their work, you allow them to continue to move up the ladder.”
Day said the decision to promote, rather than hire from outside, was not made with financial constraints in mind.
Rather, Day said elevating Barnes and Fleming was the best decision to keep things familiar for the players.
“I don’t think this decision was made with any of those constraints in mind, however I think it was more about how do we keep continuity on that side of the ball and how do we continue to just build what we’ve been working on here for a couple years with the right people in place,” Day said.
Day said no coach will fill the co-defensive coordinator position held by Mattison.
This is the second consecutive season in which Day has lost a defensive coordinator, the first instance coming with the departure of Jeff Hafley, now the head coach at Boston College.
Day responded to the loss of Hafley by hiring Coombs.
Coombs’ defense struggled to find its footing throughout the season, allowing 25.8 points per game.
Day said the positional movement will allow Coombs, who coached the secondary along with being the defensive coordinator, to focus on different units and the defense as a whole.
Coombs said he will still be involved with the secondary but will shift his focus to the defensive unit as a whole.
“I’m not evaporating from the secondary, I’m going to be around an awful lot with those kids and those kids that I’ve recruited and the kids that I’ve coached and still going to be an area of expertise,” Coombs said. “But it’s also going to give us a great opportunity to move around and be involved with the other position groups and really focus on team defense and complimentary defense and making sure that all of us are working hand in hand to produce the best result which is to be the best in the country.”
In terms of the defense’s meltdown at the end of the season, Day said they will not overreact to the Alabama game.
However, Day said bringing on a defensive consultant down the road is not outside the realm of possibility.
“Now that I’m going into year three, taking a hard look at that and seeing if there are people around that would be the right fit. I think the big thing for us is it has to be the right fit, culturally. It has to be the right personality and bring the right things to the table,” Day said. “Certainly looking at all those things and over the next couple weeks, have an opportunity to bring some guys and possibly talk about those types of things.”
