In the offseason after winning the national title, the Ohio State Buckeyes lost their top two assistant coaches in offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. However, that has not made head coach Ryan Day lose his nerve one bit.
Ryan Day Kept His Cool
When some head coaches lose their two most important coaches on the staff, they can get anxious and make poor decisions with the staff.
Not Day.
When Kelly joined the Las Vegas Raiders as their new offensive coordinator, and Knowles joined Penn State as their new defensive coordinator, Day made sensible moves to replace those coaches.
He promoted wide receivers coach Brian Hartline to offensive coordinator and hired former New England Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia to the same position.
With these additions and promotions to the staff, the Buckeyes look like they might not lose a step at all in 2025.
What Both Assistants Bring to the Team
Hartline enters his ninth season in Columbus as an offensive assistant. The former NFL wide receiver has been able to produce some elite pass-catching prospects who have gone on to do great things at the next level.
Marvin Harrison Jr., Terry McLaurin, Chris Olave, and Garrett Wilson are just some of the names that Hartline has coached in recent years. Now, he will have a chance to produce a great product as the man in charge of the offense.
Patricia was one of Bill Belichick’s top assistants for years in New England. Without his ability to coach defense at a high level, the Pats might not have won three of their six Super Bowls during their dynasty.
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His aggressive style should help him in his first college coaching stint since he was a graduate assistant at Syracuse back in 2003.
Simply put, these moves from Day have kept this team in a fantastic position to compete for a national title once again next season. Going back-to-back in Columbus would be something that would be remembered in that city for a long, long time.
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