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Ohio State football will need a new offensive play caller to defend its national title. Chip Kelly is officially returning to the NFL and leaving the champs plus head coach Ryan Day behind.
Kelly is heading to the Las Vegas Raiders, opening up the Buckeyes' offensive coordinator position on Sunday afternoon. Kelly's name surfaced as a hot commodity for teams needing help on that side of the ball. Kelly produced dynamic results with creating two 1,000-yard running backs and wide receivers. He's back in the league for the first time since 2016, when he was head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.
The Buckeyes already need to replace their defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, who took the same position with Big 10 Conference rival Penn State. The OC spot is going to attract many names, though. There's game-changing talent to work with already. Jeremiah Smith is one, who's considered one of Ohio State's most explosive wideouts ever after a stellar CFB debut.
We're thinking of these intriguing names for the now open OC job at OSU. Here are the five best candidates to replace Kelly after his Raiders move.
Brian Hartline, WR coach
This becomes a prominent internal promotion for Day.
Hartline is a proven monster recruiter. He's lured Marvin Harrison Jr., Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Emeka Egbuka and more recently Smith over to the Buckeyes. Hartline snatched the 2020 Recruiter of the Year award by 247Sports.
Promoting Hartline means continuity and keeping the offense in tact. Hartline then sheds his co-offensive coordinator label. Day and OSU, however, can still pivot to someone with more experience at putting out dynamic offensive production. Which leads us to a rival of the Buckeyes.
Andy Kotelnicki, Penn State
This can be retaliation for PSU siphoning Knowles.
Kotelnicki established himself as a red-hot OC name for his OC work in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions ranked second among Big 10 teams in total offense.
The 43-year-old is masterful at creating pre-snap motions and shifts. Kelly pulled off a similar tactic during his brief run with the Buckeyes. This wouldn't be a complete tear down of the offense. Kotelnicki's system mirrors what Kelly liked to hit defenses with.
Shannon Dawson, Miami
Here's one more stirring idea for Day and OSU football: Swoop up the offensive coordinator behind the nation's best offense.
Miami topped the nation with 538.3 total yards per game under Dawson. The Hurricanes also scored the most points per game with 44.2.
But things will look different at “The U.” Miami is losing Heisman Trophy finalist Cam Ward behind center. The ‘Canes are even losing their best wide receiver Xavier Restrepo and tight end Elijah Arroyo to the NFL Draft. Dawson can coach Smith plus high-profile 2024 signing Julian Sayin at QB if he bolts to Columbus.
Neal Brown, former West Virginia head coach
Brown can mimic a similar move Ohio State made with Kelly. Basically bringing in a former head coach to run the offense.
He's 72-51 overall as a head coach at both West Virginia and Troy. He runs a NASCAR fast offense that gets everyone lining up quickly before the defense gets set. Brown got fired after his Mountaineers team underachieved and fell to 6-6 overall.
West Virginia's 12th ranking on offense among Big 12 teams may scare off OSU. But the Mountaineers still averaged 394.7 YPG and 28.5 PPG. Brown won't be the top option, but should still be on this list given his past body of work.
Kevin Wilson, former Tulsa head coach
Wilson is another former coach worth considering. Except he has this advantage compared to the other candidates: Wilson is a past Buckeyes assistant.
He coached tight ends and previously ran the Buckeyes offense from 2017 to 2022. Wilson served on the Buckeyes' staff that delivered back-to-back 13-1 seasons in 2018 and 2019.
Wilson and Hartline are the only two here most familiar with Day. Except Wilson knows how to run an explosive offense in Columbus — which makes him attractive to replace Kelly.
