Ryan Day may have already tried to tell us who the replacement will be for Jim Knowles at Ohio State
Ohio State was handed a big task right after their National Championship win over Notre Dame. The Buckeyes were hit with the reality that DC Jim Knowles would not be sticking around any longer. Following the season, Knowles took the same job at Penn State on a $3.1 million deal. Now, the Buckeyes have to […]
Ohio State was handed a big task right after their National Championship win over Notre Dame.
The Buckeyes were hit with the reality that DC Jim Knowles would not be sticking around any longer. Following the season, Knowles took the same job at Penn State on a $3.1 million deal.
Now, the Buckeyes have to figure out who their next defensive coordinator will be. With the National Championship just having happened, the Buckeyes don’t have to rush but they will want to fill it soon. Ohio State has to decide if they want to promote someone from within, or if they want to hire someone from the outside.
During the National Championship celebration on Sunday at Ohio Stadium, head coach Ryan Day had very good things to say about Ohio State safeties coach Matt Guerrieri.
“One of the brightest minds in college football, and I'm telling you, a star in the making,” Day said when he introduced Guerreri to those in attendance on Sunday.
Perhaps Day was just revealing Guerrieri in the best way he knew how, or he was hyping up the future defensive coordinator of the Buckeyes. Guerrieri is one of a couple of names to watch as potential promotions to take over for Knowles.
Guerrieri has been with Ohio Stare for a season after coming over from Indiana where he was the co-defensive coordinator. Guerrieri had another one-year stop in Columbus in 2022 as an analyst, before that he was a co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Duke.
Guerrieri is able to run the same defensive system that Knowles did and has eight years of experience doing it. Guerrieri coached S Caleb Downs and S Lathan Ransom to spectacular seasons in 2024. The idea of hiring him and keeping the continuity from the same kind of defense that helped the Buckeyes win it all in 2024 seems ideal.
At 35 years old, Guerrieri is an Ohio native that is going to be a defensive coordinator again soon. That place just may be Ohio State thanks to an opening that no one saw coming just a couple of weeks ago.
Ohio State leader makes bold statement on what is to come under Ryan Day in 2025 for the Buckeyes
He believes they’re just getting started.
