Ohio State Safeties Coach Perry Eliano Will Not Return Next Season
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Following their ugly loss to the Missouri Tigers in the Cotton Bowl to end the season, Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day revealed that there would be changes coming to his coaching staff this offseason.
And now, those changes have officially begun to take place, with Day and the Buckeyes parting ways with safeties coach Perry Eliano.
Eliano was in the final year of his two-year contract, which the program has elected not to renew.
"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," the Ohio State Athletic Department 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."
Eliano joined the Buckeyes in the 2022 season after an impressive run with the Cincinnati Bearkats as the team's cornerbacks coach, in which his unit ranked No. 2 in the nation in pass defense and No. 3 in the nation in interceptions in 2021.
He also helped now-NFL stars Sauce Garnder and Coby Bryant earn All-American honors.
In his first season with Ohio State in 2022, Eliano helped the Buckeyes improve from the 96th-ranked pass defense in the country to the No. 26 unit in the nation.
And in 2023, they Buckeyes took another major leap in that area, finishing the season ranked as the nation's No. 1 pass defense and giving up only 145.9 yards per game.
The Buckeyes will now begin their search for his replacement, which, as the Buckeyes said in their statement, is 'ongoing.'
