COLUMBUS, Ohio – New Ohio State head coach Ryan Day knew that he needed to hit a homerun as he assembled his first staff going into the 2019 season. His landing of coaches from the Oklahoma State, Maryland and the NFL did not catch the eye of many Buckeye fans as Day looked to fill his assistant coach rosters.
No, it was not until he looked north to Ohio State’s biggest rival that fans really took notice when he landed not one, but two, coaches from Michigan with the additions of Greg Mattison and Al Washington to his 2019 staff.
Movement between the two schools is rare but not unheard of. Ohio State landed a transfer offensive lineman named Justin Boren from Michigan a decade ago, ultimately leading to the additions of Zach Boren and Jacoby Boren down the line. In the other direction, nobody will ever forget that Bo Schembechler was an assistant under the great Woody Hayes before going on to Michigan after a stop at Miami (Ohio). Even Michigan’s current offensive line coach, Ed Warinner, spent several years in the same position at Ohio State and was part of the 2014 National Championship team.
