Ohio State hiring former Maryland assistant Matt Barnes as special teams coordinator, assistant DB coach

According to FOX Sports’ Bruce Feldman, Ohio State Buckeyes head football coach Ryan Day has added another name to his staff as he has reportedly set to hire former Michigan, Florida, and Maryland assistant coach Matt Barnes. He has most recently served as the linebackers coach and special teams coordinator at the University of Maryland, one of a number of positions in which he has worked with and for former Terrapin head coach D.J. Durkin.

From 2012-14, Barnes served as a defensive and special teams graduate assistant at the University of Florida, before following Durkin to Michigan, where he was the then-defensive coordinator under Jim Harbaugh. At TTUN, Barnes served as a defensive analyst, before joining Durkin at Maryland.

When new co-defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley was introduced as a new member of the OSU staff, it was said that he would be the secondary coach, which differs from how former head coach Urban Meyer had structured his staff in recent years, having a different coach for the safeties and another for the corners.

With Hafley overseeing the secondary, and Barnes assisting, that would seem to spell the end for cornerbacks coach Taver Johnson’s second stint with the Buckeyes. No word has yet been made public about his status with Day’s staff in 2019, but at this point, unless something changes, the Buckeyes have too many coaches on staff.