Ohio State Football: Brian Hartline a possible contender for Michigan State job

The Ohio State football team knows they are going to lose Brian Hartline to a head coaching job at some point. He has been the best recruiter in college football over the past seven years or so and is the reason why the Buckeyes trot out NFL-caliber receivers every weekend.

That’s the reason why Ryan Day promoted Hartline to Offensive Coordinator this past Spring. He wants to keep Hartline in Columbus for as long as possible. It was even floated that he might call plays this season, although that hasn’t happened. He did call the plays in the Spring Game though.

Now Hartline’s name has been brought up in connection with the Michigan State position with the Mel Tucker situation seemingly melting down. Tucker will likely not survive this scandal no matter how hard he fights or tries not to cooperate with the investigation. Someone new will be in next year.

Would Hartline get a head coaching job justone year after being an offensive coordinator, especially after not calling plays in that one year? Would a Big Ten school be willing to risk that being the case? In Michigan State’s case, I’m not sure that they would.

Hartline’s recruiting is what could get him that job offer. He’s an excellent offensive recruiter. Recruiting is half of the reason why coaches get big-time jobs. Not that Michigan State qualifies as a big-time job, but it’s definitely a step up from where Hartline is now.

This isn’t something I’d worry about right now but it’s definitely worth keeping an eye on, especially if the Ohio State football team turns around the offense. If that offense ends up being a top-five offense again, Hartline very well might get an interview for that job.

I fully expect Hartline to be back in Columbus next year. I won’t be able to keep saying that for too long though.