Right before the Big Ten Championship Game, Brian Hartline decided to leave the Ohio State football program. He decided to take the head coaching job with USF after just one year as an offensive coordinator. Hartline decided to make the leap to head coach, and it's a big move.
Without Hartline, the Buckeyes have decided to hire Arthur Smith to take his place as offensive coordinator. Now, Ohio State has to figure out a way to move forward with Smith as OC and Cortez Hankton as the new wide receivers coach. Hartline understands that he is making a big move, as well.
Hartline has had head coaching interviews for other programs, but all of those programs were in the Midwest. It was a little surprising to see him head down to Florida to be the head coach of a program down there. He recently revealed why he decided to leave the Buckeyes.
Brian Hartline revealed why he decided to leave the Ohio State football program
In an interview with Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman of On3, Hartline said that he felt like he could win consistently at South Florida, and that's why he made the move when he did.
"The ultimate vision of being able to win consistently and chase championships wherever I’m at was very, very important. I felt like it was here and attainable at USF."
Hartline thinks that he can win at that program with the players he has available to recruit. South Florida is one of the biggest recruiting hotbeds in the country. Of course, he won't be the first choice for a lot of recruits down there. Still, he thinks he can get enough guys to compete for titles.
This is the head coaching job that Hartline decided was the best for him. Now, he will take what he learned during his time with the Ohio State Buckeyes to try to lead the Bulls to victories.