Patriots to interview Greg Schiano for defensive coordinator

The New England Patriots may be lining up a potential replacement for defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.

Gary Tanguay of NBC Sports Boston reported Thursday that the Patriots will interview Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano after the Super Bowl for an anticipated opening on their staff.

It is widely reported that Patricia will leave after Sunday's Patriots-Philadelphia Eagles matchup in Super Bowl LII to become the head coach of the Detroit Lions.

Schiano completed his second season with the Buckeyes as defensive coordinator. He has previous head coaching experience at Rutgers and with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In November, Schiano was ready to take the head coaching job at the University of Tennessee with a six-year, $27 million offer, but his alleged ties to the Penn State football program during the sex-abuse scandal under the late Joe Paterno led to an outcry from Volunteers students and fans that caused the school to back off.

While the head coach at Rutgers, Schiano coached Belichick's son and the two coaches are friends.

"He's one of the very best coaches I think in our profession," Belichick told reporters after Schiano was rejected at Tennessee. "I have a tremendous amount of respect for Greg and the way he runs his program and the job that he does."

Earlier this month, former Washington State defensive coordinator Alex Grinch was hired by Ohio State, who could move seamlessly into a vacancy left by Schiano on coach Urban Meyer's staff.

Ohio State lost a defensive assistant in December when secondary coach Kerry Combs moved on to Cincinnati to join the staff of head coach Luke Fickell, a former Ohio State defensive coordinator.

Schiano posted a 68-67 record in 11 years as Rutgers' head coach and an 11-21 record in two seasons with the Buccaneers.