Ryan Day makes strong admission after Brian Hartline’s decision to accept a head coaching job days before the Big Ten Championship
The Buckeyes will have to find a new play caller once this season wraps up and Brian Hartline heads to USF.
It’s been an eventful couple of days for the Ohio State Buckeyes leading up to the Big Ten Championship Game against Indiana. Signing Day brought plenty to talk about for the Buckeyes, and they still await a decision from Chris Henry Jr.
On Wednesday, news broke that the Buckeyes will lose offensive coordinator Brian Hartline, who has been named the next head coach at USF. Hartline will remain with Ohio State through its postseason run, but afterward the Buckeyes will lose their wide receiver guru who has been in Columbus since 2017.
Ryan Day opens up about Brian Hartline leaving Columbus
“I think it sort of caught everybody a little bit off guard, how quickly it happened — it was on Signing Day,” Day said on Thursday. “That’s not what Brian had in his mind when he thought about this, but this is just sort of college football right now. We can all complain about it and talk about how it’s sideways in terms of all that, but I’m not gonna do that. I’m happy for him. This is a great opportunity for him.
“We’ll do a good job of focusing on winning this game this week. He’s gonna be a huge part of that. He said he’s gonna give us his all this week to make sure we go win the Big Ten Championship and then finish out the season the right way.”
The college football calendar does no favors for coaches looking to move up or take new jobs. We just saw that play out to the extreme with Lane Kiffin leaving Ole Miss ahead of its College Football Playoff run. Hartline staying with Ohio State as the team pushes for a strong finish is the right way to handle this, and it’s no surprise he’s sticking around given what he has meant to the program — and what the program has meant to him.
Ohio State will now have to find a new wide receivers coach and a new offensive coordinator. It’s unlikely the Buckeyes will land someone who can fill both roles the way Hartline has, so multiple hires could be on the way. The Buckeyes’ primary focus must remain on Indiana and then the College Football Playoff, but coaching hires and the transfer portal will inevitably be in the back of their minds.
Hartline was always going to leave Columbus at some point, with Day firmly entrenched as Ohio State’s head coach and showing no signs of going anywhere. If Hartline can go out on top by helping lead Ohio State to a repeat on offense, he’ll be held in even higher regard than he already is — and he’s already a Buckeye favorite.
Ohio State Buckeyes News
Jeremiah Smith gives instant reaction to Brian Hartline leaving Ohio State for his first head coaching job
Ohio State is losing their offensive coordinator Brian Hartline as he’s set to head south.
