Ohio State football: Justin Frye seems to be staying on staff

Once Ryan Day hired Bill O'Brien as the offensive coordinator and play-caller, I was waiting for O'Brien to make an announcement. The worst unit on the Ohio State football team in 2023 was the offensive line. I was waiting for O'Brien to do something about that line and make it better.

The best way to do that is to fire Justin Frye as the offensive line coach. It was reported that Day was going to let the new OC do whatever he wanted in terms of personnel except for Brian Hartline. O'Brien hasn't done anything with any staff members except for Corey Dennis, and we still don't know what role he will have.

Frye seems to be staying on staff for 2024. It's a decision that is surprising considering how bad the offensive line looked in the last two games of the season. Frye also hasn't been able to bring in high-level talent on the offensive line on the recruiting front, so he doesn't do anything particularly well.

This will clearly be Frye's last chance though. He and Ryan Day are tied at the hip this season. If the Buckeyes aren't able to win big, Frye will be joining Day in the unemployment line. But with all of the talent that the Ohio State football team brings back, that seems unlikely.

This is setting up to be the best Buckeye season in the last four years. The talent on defense is crazy and the Buckeyes have a lot of great weapons on the outside. There's no reason they shouldn't be a national title contender, let alone a Big Ten contender. Frye needs to be at his best for that to happen though.

We'll see how things shake out on the offensive line. I don't expect them to be any worse than they were in 2023.