The Ohio State football team decided to bring in Arthur Smith as the offensive coordinator. After about a month of searching around, Ryan Day decided that he was the right man for the job. Now, the Buckeyes have two former head coaches as the offensive and defensive coordinators.
Day wants to have the most experienced staff possible. After the Ohio State Buckeyes faltered down the stretch, he wants to find a way to have his team be more prepared to face strong defenses. In 2025, the offense clearly didn't adjust very well to good defenses.
Smith will be the one calling plays, and it seems that Day trusts him to do that a little more than he did Brian Hartline. With Hartline now in South Florida, Day explained why he decided that Smith was the right person to bring in as the offensive coordinator in a recent interview.
Ryan Day explains why Arthur Smith is the right guy for the Ohio State football program
While appearing on the Jim Rome Show, Day explained why he thinks Smith is the right man to bring to Columbus.
"As time has gone on, and things change in college football, I just feel like more and more it's important to have guys in these coordinator positions with a tremendous amount of experience...He's a great communicator, very intelligent, and really loves the game of college football."
Day also said something that caught my ear because it sounded like a slight shot at Hartline as a first-time play-caller.
"I wanted to make sure we had somebody in here who not only had experience calling big games, but somebody who can be the head coach of the offense, which will allow me to take a different perspective this season. Certainly, it was great to have Matt (Patricia) on defense, and Brian did a great job as well, but I think this year will allow me to step back even more and try to do as much as I can from the head coach's seat."
That certainly sounds like Day felt like he had to be more involved in the play-calling this past season than he wanted to be. It sounds like he didn't love what Hartline brought to the table in terms of play-calling. It sounds like he trusts Smith a lot more to get things done.
Day is happy that he has two coordinators he feels like he can fully lean on.