With the transfer portal closing, now Ryan Day can focus his attention on deciding who will take over for Brian Hartline as Ohio State’s offensive coordinator. This marks the third consecutive offseason that Day has decided who will be calling the plays for the Buckeyes in the fall.
In January 2024, Day hired Bill O’Brien to be the offensive coordinator, but O’Brien wouldn’t actually coach in a game for Ohio State, as Boston College hired him as their hired coach shortly after. Day found the perfect replacement for O’Brien, bringing in mentor Chip Kelly to run the offense.
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Obviously the move worked since the Buckeyes went on to win the national title, resulting in the Las Vegas Raiders tossing a bunch of money at Kelly to be their offensive coordinator.
When it was announced Kelly would be leaving the program, Day decided it was time for Brian Hartline to make the next step in his development as a coach, promoting Hartline to offensive coordinator to go along with his duties as wide receivers coach.
While we don’t know how much of Ohio State’s offense in 2025 was a collaboration between Day and Hartline, or if it was mainly Hartline’s ideas, it was enough to interest South Florida, who hired Hartline as their next head coach in early December.
So who is next up for Ohio State at offensive coordinator? Here are five options that would be interesting in the role. A few have program ties, while others would have to familiarize themselves with the Lunatic Fringe.
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No matter who ends up getting the job, we all can agree that Ryan Day needs to stay away from the sticks and let whoever he hires run the offense their way.
The preferred choice: Brian Daboll
Lately where Ohio State has had success in coordinator searches it has been when they look to the NFL to fill positions. Former NFL head coach Bill O’Brien was so highly sought after that he didn’t even get to call a game for Ohio State.
Then Chip Kelly, who also spent time as an NFL head coach, ran an offense that won the national title in the 2024 season. The NFL experiment looked even better last year when Day brought in Matt Patricia as defensive coordinator, resulting in the Buckeyes having one of their best defenses in school history in 2025.
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Brian Daboll would be a tremendous option to take over for Hartline as offensive coordinator. Daboll was fired by the New York Giants a couple months ago. Taking the Ohio State offensive coordinator job would allow Daboll to start relevant in the coaching circles without having to take on the full weight of responsibilities as a head coach.
Not that there wouldn’t be plenty of demands as offensive coordinator of the Buckeyes, but at least the media crush in Columbus wouldn’t be anything like what he dealt with in New York.
What makes Daboll an attractive candidate is he is a brilliant offensive mind. I saw this when he was offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills, my favorite NFL team. Daboll helped to lay the groundwork for turning Josh Allen into a prospect many weren’t sold on coming out of college into one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL today.
It also helps Daboll has previous experience at the college level, so he is already familiar with what he’d have to do in a high-profile program like Ohio State.
The former Buckeye: J.T. Barrett
In the way James Laurinaitis has worked his way up the assistant coach ladder at the college level, J.T. Barrett has done the same in the NFL. After spending time as an offensive assistant and assistant quarterbacks coach in Detroit, Barrett followed Ben Johnson to Detroit and has been the quarterbacks coach of the Chicago Bears this season.
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Obviously Barrett has been doing something right, as Caleb Williams is looking like one of the best young quarterbacks in the league and the Bears are still alive in the playoffs.
At some point Barrett is going to look to make his next move. What better place to do so than to return to Ohio State? All Barrett did on the field in the scarlet and gray was put together one of the best quarterback careers in school history, setting numerous school records.
It’s hard to believe Barrett wouldn’t be able to have similar success calling plays for the Buckeyes. An added bonus of hiring Barrett is he would be working with Julian Sayin, and with Barrett’s experience playing and coaching quarterbacks, he would be able to help Sayin reach the next level in his development.
The wild card: Kliff Kingsbury
It’s hard to imagine Kliff Kingsbury returning to college football after spending time in the NFL. Even though Kingsbury has coaching experience at the college level, he seems like the type of guy who wants to have more time off than college football allows and doesn’t want to have to worry about recruiting.
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With the number of teams likely lining up for his services as an offensive coordinator in the NFL, smart money is on Kingsbury sticking there.
Having said all that, there’s no question Kingsbury is a brilliant offensive mind. If there was a place that could possibly lure Kingsbury away from the NFL, Ohio State is that kind of job. While there is questions about whether the egos of Ryan Day and Kingsbury could co-exist, just thinking about Julian Sayin running Kingsbury’s offense is quite a thought.
If Sayin and Kingsbury could collaborate, we could probably starting etching Sayin’s name on the 2026 Heisman Trophy.
The reclamation project: Garrett Riley
Just a few years ago Garrett Riley was seen as one of the best offensive coordinators in the country. Riley is proof that nothing good results from spending a few years with Dabo Swinney. Things just never got off the ground with Riley and the Tigers. Despite being ranked in the top-five entering the season and having Cade Klubnik at quarterback, Clemson wound up losing the Pinstripe Bowl.
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Just thinking about how upset Dabo would be if Riley came to Columbus and found success with the Buckeyes is delicious. As if beating Clemson down in the Sugar Bowl a few years ago wasn’t enough, this would just add to the theory that Ohio State broke Dabo & Clemson. Also, seeing Riley revive his once promising coaching career would be a great story.
Even though Riley recently took a job as an offensive assistant at Missouri, I’m sure there are some clauses which would allow Riley to take another job if it has a better title and/or pay. Maybe Riley would be a man of his word and stick with his commitment to Missouri where he doesn’t have an actual position, but it’s hard to imagine him passing up the Ohio State offensive coordinator job if he was offered it.
The inside man: Keenan Bailey
Many around Buckeye Nation are hoping that Ryan Day looks outside his current staff for the next offensive coordinator. Even though Keenan Bailey has put together a strong coaching career as an assistant so far, he would be an extremely underwhelming hire.
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What it would seem like if Day promoted Bailey to offensive coordinator is Day would have someone he could easily take the play-calling from at the first sign of trouble. It’s hard to see Day doing the same with Daboll, Kingsbury, or other outside candidates as the new offensive coordinator.
That’s not to say Bailey doesn’t deserve to be an offensive coordinator down the line. It just feels like now might be a little too soon for him to be elevated to the position, especially with a number of candidates in the mix who might just be in Columbus for a year or two before moving back to head coaching positions.
It just doesn’t feel like news of Bailey being promoted to offensive coordinator would inject much energy into an offense that struggled in their final two games of the 2025 season.
