Ohio State fans spotted a familiar face at the New Albany Country Club as Matt Patricia returned to the field for a fundraiser. Still wearing a neck brace after suffering a serious neck injury during the offseason, Patricia crossed paths with Bill Rabinowitz and provided an update on his recovery and recent surgery. Although he did not play, he is on a speedy road to recovery.

“Oh, I was in a lot of pain,” Ohio State’s defensive coordinator said on Bill Rabinowitz Substack. “But the kids were great. They knew. And our coaching staff had to put up with me, but I was hurting.”

Patricia never disclosed the details of what had happened to him; he just posted on 9th May on Instagram from a hospital bed after his surgery with a big smile on his face and a brace supporting his neck: “Off-season repairs aren’t just for players,” read the post. Until recently, he dived into what had actually happened.

“The brief version would be that I had to have my neck fused,” Patricia said. “I had a couple of discs pushed into the spinal cord and shut my arm off. I lost feeling in my arm, the muscle, and the movement, and all that. It was getting to the point where it was pretty severe.”

Entering his second season with the Buckeyes, he did not want his players to suffer later in the season because of his absence, so despite being in pain, he had the surgery in the off-season. Patricia was a lineman for the RPI and believed a sleeping injury from taking all the hits back in his day got triggered during practice with the Buckeyes.

“I might have hit a (weight) bag in the middle of spring ball when we were demoing a little bit, and something slipped,” he said. “I woke up two days later, and I was in agony. It was the weirdest thing. I had stabbing pain in my forearm and in my neck, and in my back. Then the muscles started shutting (down). The nerves were shutting off. I had to suck it up, get through spring ball, and then try to take a look at it.”

Patricia’s hiring caught a lot of eyes after his stint as the HC of the Detroit Lions, but Ryan Day knew what he was doing. He came with 28 years of experience in the field, and that is something that was evident after his explosive entry in Ohio. After losing 14 players to the NFL draft in 2024, he changed the whole trajectory of the defense and turned it into the No.1 in the world. Buckeye fans have high expectations for him for the upcoming season, with new starters on the line this year.

“It is fun,” he said. “I love this part of it, but it does give me great anxiety because I really feel the pressure to make sure that I’m doing everything I can to give these guys a chance. I want to win for our fans and the defense–the Silver Bullets–and the alumni.

Matt Patricia’s career over the years

It is no joke that the man has been on the field for a very long time. Patricia, also known as the Rocket-scientist coach, started working as an aeronautical engineer after his graduation but couldn’t keep himself far from the field for too long.

After working with small colleges as a DL coach, Bill Belichick gave him his break at the New England Patriots in 2004. He stayed for 14 years with the Patriots, establishing himself as a strong DC and cementing three Super Bowl championships under him.

The next stop led him straight to the NFL as the head coach of the Detroit Lions. He served a short tenure there of two years, after getting a result he wouldn’t have expected. Under his tenure, the Lions finished 13–29–1, after which he was removed mid-season in 2020. He returned to the Patriots in 2021 as their Senior Football Advisor & Offensive Line Coach / Play-caller.The

The Philadelphia Eagles were his last NFL team, after which he made a public decision to come back to college football. Ohio hired the veteran coach, who commanded an annual salary of $3.75 million, making him the highest-paid CFB coach. After replacing Jim Knowles, he has proved that he means business and is worth the investment.