Ohio State is on the verge of naming its next offensive coordinator and play caller, with former Pittsburgh Steelers OC Arthur Smith expected to come aboard.
Ryan Day’s reported choice of Smith appeared to elicit mixed feelings from the Buckeyes fan base, much like the hiring of Matt Patricia as defensive coordinator last season. But the move lines up with what Day was looking for in a coordinator to replace new South Florida coach Brian Hartline.
Here are a few thoughts on Smith after talking to some people who know him well.
1. Day wanted an experienced play caller and got just that in Smith. In fact, one could argue that the 43-year-old Smith, who has been calling plays in the NFL since taking over as the Tennessee Titans’ offensive coordinator in 2019, is overqualified for this job. He was hired by the Atlanta Falcons in 2021 to take on his first head coaching gig, and while that ended with a record of 21-30 over three years, his experience is greater than any college coach Day could’ve hired.
Smith is well respected around the NFL. Before taking the Ohio State job, he was in the running for offensive coordinator jobs with the Titans, again, and the Philadelphia Eagles. People in Ohio State’s program are excited about this hire, and with his experience in the NFL, he checks the biggest box for Day: an experienced play caller.
2. After last year’s departure of Chip Kelly, handing over play calling to Hartline was the obvious move. It was the next step in his development as a coach. Ohio State had a perfect regular season that ended with quarterback Julian Sayin as a Heisman finalist, but the Buckeyes scored a combined 24 points in their final two games, both losses, with Day taking over play calling in the Cotton Bowl. That rough ending is what everybody will remember about 2025.
Hiring Smith gives Day the peace of mind he had in 2024 when Kelly was running the offense. Though Smith and Day aren’t particularly connected outside of former Ohio State quarterback Will Howard playing under Smith last year and Smith being the coordinator for Mike Vrabel in Tennessee, Smith’s experience running offensive staffs will give Day confidence.
3. It’s important to note that while Smith will run the offense, this is still going to be Day’s program, and it will continue to have his philosophy in the passing game. But Smith has some similarities to Kelly in that he can bring some innovation and a fresh perspective to the Ohio State running game.
He has an offensive line background, as he played guard at North Carolina and coached the offensive line and tight ends in his time with the Titans before he became offensive coordinator. Led by star running back Derrick Henry, the Titans were third in the NFL in rushing in 2019 and second in 2020. The Falcons struggled in 2021, finishing 31st in the league in rushing, but with Tyler Allgeier as the leading running back, Atlanta was third with 159 rushing yards per game in 2022. The Falcons then thrived again in 2023 with Bijan Robinson. Last season was the first time that an offense coached by Smith finished in the bottom half of the NFL in rushing yards since 2021 with the Falcons.
4. Smith did a nice job with the run game in Atlanta, but offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford was also a big reason for the Falcons’ success. There was a reason why Ledford was kept on staff after Smith was fired and Raheem Morris took over. Although new Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski moved in a different direction, there was a belief in the NFL at the time that Atlanta had one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, and that was built around the relationship between Ledford and Smith.
That will be something to watch as Smith gets to know Ohio State offensive line coach Tyler Bowen.
Bo Jackson rushed for 1,090 yards as a freshman at Ohio State. (Raymond Carlin III / Imagn Images)
5. The last time Ohio State had a coordinator who knew the run game like Smith, it won the national championship. That’s not to say that this year’s running back group led by Bo Jackson is as good as it was with TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins, but the Buckeyes’ ground game lacked elements of creativity and explosiveness in 2025 that Ohio State hopes Smith can bring back.
But while Smith is proven in the rushing game, questions linger about his work with the passing game. In his seven years calling plays, he entered the season with six different quarterbacks. He had two years with Ryan Tannehill in Tennessee, and in Atlanta, he had a year with Matt Ryan, began 2022 with Marcus Mariota and went into 2023 with Desmond Ridder, before having Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers in Pittsburgh. None of his teams finished better than 16th in passing yards per game.
That’s where much of Ohio State fans’ concern stems from, because Smith isn’t known for being overly creative in the passing game. Talented receivers including Drake London and Kyle Pitts have struggled to thrive under Smith, and the connection between Rodgers and DK Metcalf in Pittsburgh last season underperformed compared to expectations.
6. Though that concern is fair, there’s a belief that Day and his staff can mesh Day’s passing game with Smith’s mind in the running game, much like they did in 2024 with Kelly. One key difference between then and now, however, is that Hartline is gone as receivers coach. While Hartline struggled at times as a coordinator, his familiarity with the receivers and how Day thinks was a big help during the Buckeyes’ national championship run. Now, Ohio State has a new receivers coach in Cortez Hankton, too.
That’s not to say the passing game won’t succeed. Day will chime in when needed, and the Buckeyes bring back an experienced offense led by Sayin and All-American receiver Jeremiah Smith. It may take some time to jell, but I don’t think the passing game will struggle in the long run. Day’s impact on the passing game will be felt, even if he doesn’t call plays or micromanage things in the meetings.
7. With this hire, Day is making it evident that his model now is experienced play callers who don’t have to multitask with position groups or a lot of recruiting.
Ohio State will enter the season with two former NFL coordinators in Smith and Patricia. While Patricia does do some recruiting, neither he nor Smith has a position group. Because Day doesn’t plan on eliminating any position coaches, Smith won’t have to go on the road and recruit.
I’m curious if this approach catches on around the country, especially if Ohio State goes on another national title run. I’m not sure, but it does show Day’s willingness to make Ohio State more like an NFL team. And it seems to be an intriguing position for NFL coaches who don’t want to recruit but can also get a year to coach elite players and reestablish themselves.
