Ryan Day needed a head coach of the defense.
It was the only way for Day's structure of the Ohio State football program to be optimized with him looking after the offense, Parker Fleming serving as the “head coach of special teams” and Mark Pantoni serving as the “head coach of recruiting.”
Jim Knowles fit the bill.
It's what he did with Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy. It's something Day was confident Knowles could do again in Columbus.
But with that, the defensive coaching staff had to go his way, had to be structured the way he wanted it.
Knowles needed two defensive backs coaches, something he's always had.
“You can be most vulnerable to giving things up in the secondary, mismatched or mistakes. That’s where you can get hurt most or quickly,” Knowles said. “We need two quality coaches there. I believe that, to be able to spend the amount of time necessary to get those guys ready because there are so many different positions,
"It can win or lose games for you, so I think we need to commit coaching resources there.”
Simply, Knowles needed two defensive backs coaches who could maximize the resources at their disposal, something Day saw in both Perry Eliano and Tim Walton.
Both have more than 20 years of coaching experience spread out between the college and professional ranks with a track record of developing talent, from Walton and Jalen Ramsey with the Jacksonville Jaguars, to Eliano with Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner and Coby Bryant at Cincinnati.
To Eliano, two defensive backs coaches makes sense for one defense.
He knows there are certain nuances he will have to focus on with the safeties that may be different from what Walton’s are with the Ohio State corners.
And in a defense that’s in the midst of an overhaul, Eliano knows he will have to start at the beginning, turning back to the basic techniques, fundamentals and coverages the Buckeyes will run, something one coach can’t do by himself for all of the defensive backs on the roster.
“I think for Coach Knowles and Coach Day to truly identify and recognize that, ‘You know what, we need two guys back there,’” Eliano said. “But I think the key to that is to have the chemistry, the communication and that we’re all in this thing together. I think that’s extremely critical into having a really, really good secondary.”
It’s what has worked for Knowles in the past, something Walton is excited to be a part of.
“You can tell he has an elite thinking mind. When you have a guy that’s that sharp, that’s real high football IQ, that helps you grow,” Walton said. “You always want to be in a position as a coach that you continue to grow. You don’t want to be stagnant. I know with the stuff that Jim is going to do, I know I will have a chance to grow, I know I will have a chance to get better, and that's exciting even as a coach.”
It’s two positions with two different skills, sure. But it’s one room with a common goal, with two coaches preaching the same messages to each of their guys.
It’s a defensive backs unit that comes down to the relationship and communication between Walton and Eliano.
Both are aspects that brought both to Ohio State in the first place, and it's what's going to revitalize Ohio State's pass defense starting in 2022.
“We’re going to be like this,” Eliano said, crossing his fingers. “We’re going to be on the same wavelength, so what he’s saying, I’m saying. What I’m saying he’s saying, so I think that’s the best and most important thing. You don’t always have to meet with each other as a group, but I think both coaches have to be on the same wavelength, have to be reading from the same sheet of music.”
