Perry Eliano won't return as Buckeyes safeties coach in 2024

COLUMBUS — Ohio State hired Perry Eliano to help lead the defensive turnaround two years ago.

Now the Buckeyes are looking for a new safeties coach to further the progress made in the last two seasons.

Ohio State is moving on from Eliano after two seasons.

Eliano came to Ohio State from Cincinnati after a successful run with the Bearcats defense. He coached first-round cornerback Sauce Gardner and Thorpe Award winner Coby Bryant during his time at Cincinnati, helping the Bearcats reach the College Football Playoff.

Ohio State hired him to replace Matt Barnes, who was the safeties coach and special teams coordinator for the Buckeyes in 2020 and 2021. But two years later, Eliano is on his way out.

“Ohio State University head football coach Ryan Day has informed assistant coach Perry Eliano that he will not be retained on staff for the 2024 football season,” Ohio State athletics said in a statement. “Eliano, who coached the team’s safeties, was in the final year of his initial two-year contract with Ohio State. A search for his successor is ongoing.”

This all comes after the Buckeyes had one of the best defenses in the country this year. Eliano helped field one of the country’s top passing defenses with defensive passing game coordinator Tim Walton and defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.

Eliano saw that coming in the preseason.

“Mindset, maturity, comfort level,” Eliano said of his personal growth last offseason, before the Buckeyes posted an 11-2 record this fall. “You know, understanding what failure really feels like. Just holistically, it’s exciting to see the young men in the meeting room on the field with that fire in their eye, understanding that we can do what everyone wants to do in this game. We just have to put in the work and make sure that we’re dotting I’s and crossing our T’s. Be realistic with ourselves as far as where we must get better. I’ve seen that.

“And that’s what’s exciting to me when I’m in front the guys and going to work with.”

The Buckeyes safety trio of Josh Proctor, Lathan Ransom and Sonny Styles excelled in the defense — until Ransom got hurt. Then it began to suffer a bit without the leader of the back end. Proctor was a third-team All-Big Ten selection this year, while Ransom and Styles were honorable mention all-conference performers.

Where Eliano struggled was on the recruiting trail, taking big swings for top prospects around the country and not connecting on any of those swings. Eliano and the Buckeyes were in good position for five-star safety Caleb Downs before he ultimately chose Alabama as part of the 2023 recruiting class. Downs led Alabama in tackles as a true freshman starter.

And then the 2024 class featured a similar result. Five-star safety KJ Bolden chose Florida State over the Buckeyes before he ultimately flipped to Georgia on national signing day, despite a family connection between Eliano and Bolden.

Eliano signed three safeties in the 2023 recruiting class, including breakout freshman Malik Hartford. He just signed two safeties in the 2024 recruiting class. Of the five safeties he signed, none were ranked inside the top 100 in the On3 Industry Rankings. Just one — Hartford — was ranked inside the top 250.

Day categorized recruiting as ‘the No. 1’ thing he looks for in assistants during his National Signing Day press conference.

“The first thing is recruiting,” Day said. “That’s the No. 1 thing, you have to recruit your position. That’s your job. You’re the head coach of your position. You have to make sure that room is strong year in and year out. We have a certain amount of depth that we have at each position. And then you know, it’s your job to make sure that you have the best room in the country.

“I think that’s the other thing that we talked about a lot. When you’re at Ohio State and you’re coaching the wide receivers, that should be ‘Wide Receiver U.’ If you’re coaching the linebackers, that should be ‘Linebacker U.’ Because this is the best place in the country.”

Perry Eliano helped lead the new and improved Ohio State defense for the last two seasons. But staff changes are here. And Eliano is among them. His time with the Buckeyes is over after two years with the program.

Lettermen Row will have more details when they become available.