Brian Hartline has established himself as one of the Ohio State football program's most valuable coaches. Even before he was promoted to offensive coordinator this offseason, he was viewed as the best receivers coach in the country. He is also the best recruiter in the country.
The ability for Hartline to land pretty much whatever receiver recruit he wants in a given recruiting cycle has been extremely valuable for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Jeremiah Smith is the best plyaer on the team, and he was a recruit that Hartline brought in a couple of years ago.
Hartline's success has put him in the position to interview for a couple of head coaching jobs over the last couple of years. Now that he's an offensive coordinator, his name is being brought up for some big jobs. With another domino about to fall, the odds of the Buckeyes losing him just got bigger.
The Ohio State football program might lose Brian Hartline after this year
Boosters at Penn State are rumored to be enamored with Hartline. Penn State fired James Franklin after his team lost three games in a row. The Nittany Lions will come to the Shoe this weekend. But that's not why Hartline's odds of leaving have gotten higher.
According to multiple reports, Bryan Kelly is the next head coach to be fired from a major program. That could open up another opening that Hartline could be linked to. Even if he doesn't take that job, he could use it as leverage to get another job if he so chooses. There are several P4 jobs available.
With LSU deciding to fire Kelly, that could allow Hartline's agent an opportunity to angle Hartline as a good fit for that job, which could accelerate Penn State's interest in bringing him in. Even though he's only been an offensive coordinator for one year, programs around the country really respect him.
The Buckeyes are hoping that they will be able to keep Hartline for the near future. He will inevitably leave for a head coaching job at some point, but Ohio State would like to keep him as long as they can.