The Ohio State Buckeyes were linked to recently fired Clemson Tigers offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, who lost his job along with safeties coach Mickey Conn, as a potential Brian Hartline replacement in Columbus.
Riley, who made a name for himself with the SMU Mustangs and, especially, the TCU Horned Frogs during their run to the 2022/2023 College Football Playoff National Championship Game, never got things going in Upstate South Carolina.
While Cade Clubnik looked like a future NFL star following the team's spirited loss to the Texas Longhorns and a strong 2024 season, the Tigers' offense unfathomably dropped the ball, in a literal and figurative sense, this past fall.
Ohio State Buckeyes On SI's Daniel Fisher described a potential Riley hiring in hypothetically desperate terms.
"Riley is likely not Ohio State's first or even second choice. However, he could bring his offensive vision and style to an offense that has to get more explosive," Fisher wrote.
"Riley served as Clemson's offensive coordinator from 2023 to 2025, but the Tigers fired him after the season. There were a handful of issues at Clemson over the last three seasons that weren't all on Riley, and joining a program with more stability and better players could get Riley back on track."
"It's not that Riley hasn't had success as an offensive coordinator; he served as TCU's OC in 2022, when the Horned Frogs reached the national championship game and ultimately lost to Georgia."
Ohio State cannot make desperation hire at OC after Brian Hartline's exit
Ryan Day needs to nail this next OC hire. His job may depend on it. Not in the immediate sense, but getting this next choice wrong may take away the chance to make the next choice after that. The next step after that would be finding a Day replacement.
There's no better way to upset a hurt fanbase than by hiring the guy Dabo Swinney felt wasn't good enough. Clemson's standards should be far below OSU's. The Buckeyes shouldn't be hiring guys who just lost their jobs. They should be looking for aspiring position coaches or established OCs/play-calling head coaches.
It's unclear who the best option is, but even the Bucknut who suggested Riley knows it's not him.
Let Garrett join Lincoln on the USC Trojans and go bigger, Ross Bjork.