Report: Ohio State swiping Cincinnati CBs coach to add to defensive staff

Ohio State is reportedly adding a new member to its defensive staff.

According to Yahoo’s Pete Thamel, Ohio State is expected to hire Cincinnati cornerbacks coach Perry Eliano. The report indicates that Eliano will be the new safeties coach for the Buckeyes.

It’s another change for Ohio State’s defensive staff, which also saw the arrival of former Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, who will be in the same role with the Buckeyes.

Sources: Perry Eliano has accepted the safeties coaching job at Ohio State. He’s the Cincinnati corners coach, where he tutored Thorpe winner Coby Bryant and first-team All-American Sauce Gardner. He’s the former DC at Bowling Green and has worked at New Mexico and UTSA.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 13, 2022

Eliano had been the cornerbacks coach at Cincinnati since 2020. This year, he coached Thorpe winner Coby Bryant and first-team All-American Sauce Gardner.

Eliano will bring two decades of coaching experience with him to Ohio State. He spent 10 years at the FCS level before jumping to the FBS. The newest member of the Buckeyes staff was at UTSA (2011-15), Bowling Green (2016-17) and New Mexico (2018-19).

Before he jumped into the FBS ranks, Eliano had stops at Stephen F. Austin (2001-02), Central Arkansas (2003-04, 2006-10) and Sam Houston (2005).

Ohio State is coming off an 11-2 season but struggled on the defensive side of the football. That forced head coach Ryan Day to make some significant changes to the staff.

The Buckeyes are adding another proven staffer to the mix for the 2022 season.