Ohio State’s Ryan Day nearing most important decision of his Buckeye future

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Maybe Ohio State football coach Ryan Day’s answer to giving up control of his offense simply calls for finding another version of himself.

According to a Football Scoop report on Friday, Day told his assistants he will hire a new offensive coordinator to evaluate the staff and potentially make new hires. The report was not specific as to whether this would mean a co-coordinator role for Brian Hartline, though it did say the receivers coach and first-year OC’s job should be safe regardless.

Such a move would be a full step beyond Day’s flirtation one year ago with giving up play calling duties — something he ultimately decided against. This would mean installing a “head coach of the offense” as he did with Jim Knowles on defense. It would presumably take oversight of the offense off Day’s plate and complete a transition to a more chief executive-like role.

While Day considered stepping back from day to day control of the offense after last season, the staff makeup made that difficult.

Hartline’s accomplishments and rising status in the industry warranted a promotion. Yet giving full control of the offense to a first-time coordinator with no play calling experience — while conducting a quarterback competition between two first-time starters — always seemed like a stretch. No one else on the offensive staff had play calling experience, either.

Adding any offensive coaches means someone currently on staff will not return. That may not be the only personnel change in the next couple of weeks. As we have seen before, who exits the staff matters less than how Day replaces them.

When Mike Yurcich left after one season as quarterbacks coach in 2020, Day promoted Corey Dennis from the quality control ranks. Urban Meyer’s son-in-law had spent his entire coaching life in the program, from intern to graduate assistant to QC. The former receiver in a Georgia Tech offense which rarely threw the ball might have seemed especially out of place if not for Day’s continued influence in quarterback development.

When Matt Barnes moved from special teams coordinator to secondary coach after 2020, Day again promoted from the QC room. Parker Fleming had worked primarily with receivers and quarterbacks at prior stops before Day made him the special teams coordinator. That created an offense-defense imbalance on the staff.

If you did not notice, instability at quarterback and communication and execution issues on special teams have become evident over the past year.

So we can rule out internal promotions from the QC ranks as part of whatever changes come next for Day’s staff. Dennis and Fleming moved into their jobs immediately after Big Ten championship and playoff seasons. Same for Keenan Bailey’s promotion from special assistant to tight ends coach last year (after he turned down jobs at other programs).

When Day faced a small crisis after 2021, though, he went with experience and gravitas.

Knowles was the most sought-after defensive coordinator in the nation that offseason. Ohio State paid more than it ever had for an assistant to land him. Tim Walton, while a former Buckeye, had also been an NFL defensive coordinator along with his many years as a defensive backs coach. Perry Eliano had proven himself by developing multiple NFL defensive backs for Cincinnati’s playoff team.

Knowles’ scheme, Walton’s cornerbacks and Eliano’s safeties all played pivotal roles in OSU redefining its defense as one of the nation’s best. (That has not happened yet for offensive line coach Justin Frye, hired in the same cycle. Yet he also came with over a decade of Group of Five and Power 5 coaching experience.)

As he gears up for this potentially significant staff shift, Day does not have time to groom a novice play caller. He does not have time for on-the-job training of oversight of the most important positions on the field.

He needs to find someone with a track record of both and let him do his thing. He needs to find another Ryan Day.

If the stakes were high after 2021, they have only risen exponentially since. The athletic director who hired Day, Gene Smith, leaves his position at the end of the school year. Day’s buyout — currently over $46 million — provides a certain measure of security. That doesn’t mean he can definitely afford a fourth consecutive loss to Michigan, especially if coupled with a disappointing postseason.

Some of the reaction to constant 11-win seasons has been over the top. At the same time, the end product has too often been less than the sum of its parts in the most important moments.

Some fans may have picked out their favorite punching bags on the coaching staff. There is no addition by subtraction here, though. The most important decision of Day’s coaching future at Ohio State may come in a matter of days.