This season has fallen off the rails for the Ohio State football program. After expecting to compete for a national championship, they have now accumulated three losses this season. One of the biggest issues has been special teams, which has been hard to watch all season.
Robby Discher was hired in the offseason to become the special teams coach for the Buckeyes. He had high remarks out of Illinois and was supposed to fix some problems. Less than a year in, he has been fired, as he only made things worse for Ohio State.
Robby Discher out as Ohio State's special teams coordinator
Discher didn't help improve anything with the special teams. Connor Hawkins missed a game-winning field goal against Texas and another field goal against Iowa. Joe McGuire continues to struggle as the starting punter. Kickoff and punt coverage have been bad, too.
The final straw for Day was the Buckeyes allowing a fake punt to be converted while facing Oregon on Saturday. That fake punt kept a drive alive at the end of the first half that allowed Oregon to score a touchdown on the final play. That was the momentum shift that turned the game in the Ducks' favor.
I have been screaming all year long about how Day needs to pay attention to special teams more. Quite frankly, the special teams have been atrocious every year since he has taken over as the head coach. It's clearly a pattern that he has established and has to fix.
Discher was once regarded as one of the best special teams coordinators in the country. Now, he's out of a job. The Buckeyes are going to need a new one who can actually fix the many issues that surround the coverage teams. Perhaps they can actually recruit a decent punter, too.
More coaching staff changes are likely coming from Ryan Day
It's likely that more staffing changes are on the way. Discher is just the first domino to drop. Day knows that he has to make many changes if he wants to avoid a repeat of this season happening again next year. Discher was just the easy choice to make because he doesn't call any plays.
Arthur Smith and Matt Patricia are both on the hot seat, as well. Patricia's defense has not shown the ability to rush the passer all season long. The defense has given up 71 points in the last two games. He is likely the next one out of town if the defense continues to stink.
Smith hasn't done much better in his first year as the offensive coordinator. He has not helped Luke Fahey at all since he took over as the starting quarterback. Worse than that, the running game has been abysmal all year long. He is supposed to be great at scheming up run plays coming out of the NFL.
Day finally had the courage to make an in-season staff change. It's time for him to make some other big changes, but I wouldn't be surprised if he holds off on those until the end of the season.
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