For the past 30 years, co-defensive coordinator Greg Mattison has always coached from field level in his various roles as an assistant coach. That will change on Saturday.
Because new defensive coordinator and secondary coach Kerry Coombs will be coaching from the field unlike his predecessor Jeff Hafley last year, Mattison will be up in the press box to oversee the field from above. He'll let Coombs join defensive line coach Larry Johnson and linebackers coach Al Washington at field level.
For Mattison, who went on to become defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at Michigan, Notre Dame and Florida and also spent three years coaching with the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens before returning to Michigan and then going south to Ohio State, this will be the first time he’s coached from the booth since he was Texas A&M’s defensive line coach in 1990.