It's safe to say that Ohio State head man Ryan Day has stunned us all with his offensive coordinator call. In case you missed it, former Steelers OC Arthur Smith is trading in his NFL whistle for a college one, taking over the offense for the Buckeyes. Wait, what?
Ryan Day surprises a lot of people with his new Ohio State OC hire
That's right, Smith is making the move to Columbus in a move from Day that sure feels pretty shocking. At the same time, this is exactly how people were feeling last year when Matt Patricia was hired to take over the defense. So, will Day strike gold once again?
Ohio State football fans don't seem too happy with the Arthur Smith hire
Smith's resume can't be questioned, as he has 20 years of experience: he started his coaching career as a grad assistant with North Carolina in 2006. Just like Patricia too, he has previous head coaching experience, running the show once with the Falcons.
He was most recently in Pittsburgh, but with Mike Tomlin stepping down and Mike McCarthy taking over for him, Smith was on the hunt for a new job himself. This is where Day has stepped in to give him a new offer, one that sure has created quite the topic of conversation among the fanbase:
arthur smith and matt patricia on my team at the same time pic.twitter.com/Y0CgpR72YL
— jeff okudah burner (@dlowrld) January 25, 2026
@OhioStateFB please tell me you didn’t actually hire Arthur Smith and this is a cruel and disgusting joke.
— Takes for Days (@Dan_Ruppert) January 25, 2026
Went from innovative to predictable and bad.
If Im Jeremiah Smith, Im telling Ohio State to suck it and leaving. An Arthur Smith offense lol. What a giant misfire by Ryan Day.
— Tristin (@Tristin_Elise) January 25, 2026
Not a good hire by us. Arthur Smith is mid
— Professional Clapper (@Tonio2Meticulos) January 25, 2026
Arthur Smith to Ohio State …they about to win 3 games next year lol
— Brandon (@_ThatGuyDro) January 25, 2026
@OhioStateFB with the toughest schedule in the country this year, picking your OC is paramount.
— Stosh Michael Rolsten (@SRolsten44377) January 25, 2026
Arthur Smith ?
Someone spike the punch again 🤬 !?
Yes it's nice that OC Arthur Smith can no longer be bad for #Steelers.
— Marc Bowers (@marcbowers7) January 25, 2026
But unfortunately now he's going to ruin #Buckeyes offense 🤪 #HereWeGo #Buckeyes 🌰
Legitimately - How does Arthur Smith keep getting jobs?!
— The Goal Line Grind (@theGLgrind) January 25, 2026
Why would Ohio State voluntarily nuke their own offense like this 😂
I guess the BIG TEN owes them a big thank you taking themselves out of contention in 2026. https://t.co/hctRkf1WOF
There are plenty more posts just like the ones above. With that said, everyone freaking out has to remember that Patricia had a similar background, he made the move to the college ranks and he had Ohio State's defense FLYING this past campaign.
Smith is known more for his ability to get the ground game going, which will surely help Ohio State next season. Think he's just going to forget about the aerial attack with Julian Sayin, Jeremiah Smith and Chris Henry Jr. moving forward? Not a chance.
Again, on paper this feels like it's a sizable risk from Day in going with Smith, but there's a reason he's paid the big bucks to make these decisions. Let's give Smith a shot before writing him off. Who knows, he could end up surprising a lot of people, doing so the same way Patricia did in 2025.