Ohio State is hiring former Arizona Wildcats defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads as a defensive analyst.
The move was first reported by Pete Thamel of Yahoo! Sports. Rhoads becomes the first analyst ever employed by Ohio State coach Ryan Day, according to Cleveland.com. Analysts typically break down film and scout, but are not allowed to coach players on the field.
Rhoads was hired by Arizona in December 2019. During his one season with the UA, the Wildcats went winless and finished last in the Pac-12 in yards allowed per game (473) and points allowed per game (39.8).
Rhoads was not retained when Jedd Fisch was hired to replace Kevin Sumlin in December. He was replaced by Don Brown who had spent the last five years as Michigan's defensive coordinator.
At the time of his hire by the UA, Rhoads was coming off two years (2018-19) as UCLA's defensive backs coach. Rhoads replaced Marcel Yates, who was let go by the university in the middle of the 2019 season.
Rhoads is now joining a Buckeyes program that ranked ninth in total defense last season and fifth in scoring.
