Ryan Day Hands Over Play Calling Responsibility to Brian Hartline

Ryan Day did not have the opportunity to rest after his Ohio State Buckeyes won the National Championship over Notre Dame in January. His team quickly faced several coaching staff departures, with offensive coordinator Chip Kelly heading to the NFL and defensive coordinator Jim Knowles getting hired by Penn State.

As a result, Day had the tough task of replacing both of his coordinators in a short offseason. He went out and hired former NFL head coach Matt Patricia as the defensive coordinator, replacing Knowles. For the offensive coordinator position, Day opted to promote from within.

Brian Hartline, who served as the offensive coordinator before Chip Kelly was hired in 2024, was promoted back to the position of offensive coordinator. Last season, Hartline served as the co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. On Friday, Ryan Day spoke with reporters and confirmed that Hartline will be a first-time player-caller for Ohio State.

"Ryan Day confirms that "Brian Hartline will be a first-time play-caller for us.""

Brian Hartline gets praise from recruits after his promotion from Ryan Day

When there are big changes to the coaching staff of a team, it sometimes leads to recruits changing their commitments. Most of the time, recruits pick schools because of their conversations with coaching staff. So, after Ohio State lost both of its coordinators, it would not have been surprising for some recruits to change their commitments.

However, that was not the case when Brian Hartline was promoted by Ryan Day to be the team's offensive coordinator. Five-star QB committ Brady Edmonds praised Brian Hartline while at the Rivals Camp this past weekend.

"I think that's really important for the recruiting aspect. Keeping him around was a big thing. That was a big thing because obviously he was interviewing for other jobs. Then Coach Day is also a known play caller too so he can do it if he wants to as well."

It will be interesting to see how Ohio State's offense changes next season. The offensive coordinator position has been in flux in recent years. Hartline held the role in 2023, but then gave it up to serve as co-offensive coordinator when Chip Kelly was hired in 2024. Now Hartline is back in the position.