For an Ohio State program desperate to keep its star defensive coordinator, Matt Patricia’s latest message was exactly what it needed to hear. The massive success kept the Buckeyes awake all night, with NFL rumors linked to Patricia. The defensive coordinator nearly confirmed his future with the Buckeyes.

Matt Patricia, on his recent trip to Texas to celebrate Caleb Downs’s collegiate career, had an interview with The Silver Bulletin on February 10th. During the interview, Patricia addressed the future of the Ohio State defense, sharing his excitement to return to Columbus with a strong message.

“I love it. I’m very excited,” Matt Patricia said. “It was unbelievable for me. It’s been a minute since I’ve been in college football, and that game day experience, that game day atmosphere, the shoe, our fans—that was amazing. You know, to go out there against Texas and just to have that support and that energy, how can you not love it? 

So I’m excited to get back there as fast as we can and get into the game environment, have that game day atmosphere, get that home field advantage with our fans, and just do everything we can to try to build the defense again. It’ll be another new set of players out there, just like it was last year, but I’m excited about those young guys. I can’t wait to get them out on the field in front of our group and go have some success, hopefully.”

Patricia’s message is clear that the coach is pretty much motivated to be back in Columbus, and there’s no interest in leaving the Buckeyes at the moment. This is big news for Ohio State’s 2026 season, as the Buckeyes, under Matt Patricia, had one of the best defensive productions throughout the season. 

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The defense’s dominance under Patricia was historic, as Ohio State led the nation in both total defense (219.1 yards per game) and scoring defense (9.3 points per game), effectively shutting down both the pass and the run.

Additionally, eight OSU starters have declared for the 2026 NFL Draft. Patricia reached new heights with OSU in his very first season, which the former coach Jim Knowles had been trying to build for years. However, it would not have been possible without the right support from the star defensive players.

While Patricia will be working with a younger group next season, his active involvement in the team’s recruiting efforts signals a commitment that may temper any immediate NFL ambitions.

Matt Patricia’s NFL coaching rumors are still brewing

Earlier this year, reports suggested that Matt Patricia was under consideration for the Cowboys’ DC role. However, there hasn’t been any noise surrounding the rumors since then, which has caused them to slowly die down.

“Patricia, a former longtime NFL assistant and head coach, was linked earlier this month to the Cowboys’ search for a defensive coordinator, but there hasn’t been much noise surrounding Patricia since,” Cleveland.com’s Stephan Krajisnik wrote.

While one rumor was in the rearview, Pat Murphy of Bucknuts cautioned that the door isn’t fully shut yet. He firmly believes that any fancy offer could take Patricia back to the NFL, which has always been his ultimate destination.

“No news is good news on that front,” Pat Murphy said on 97.1 The Fan. “I think it’s kind of been what we’ve talked about since the season ended; he wants to be here. It’s just a matter of let’s see what comes in, and I think he deserves the right to take his time. And if somebody comes in and offers a Chip Kelly-like contract, like the Raiders did. I think then you can’t say no to something like that.”

Well, we need to wait and watch how things unfold with Matt Patricia and OSU in the coming weeks until the NFL coaching hunt comes to an end.