Ryan Day raves about what Chip Kelly brings to Ohio State

Ryan Day was thrilled to bring his mentor, Chip Kelly, to Ohio State as the team’s new offensive coordinator.

Going into 2024, it gives the Buckeyes a new, dynamic approach at offense. Not only is Kelly thrilled that he can focus solely on football, but Day is excited to see what his former boss will do with the scheme.

When you blend the two together, Ohio State could have the best offense in college football.

“Well, I think when you look at any offense, what you are trying to do is trying to figure out what plays maximize the guys you have in the locker room,” Day said at Big Ten Media Days. “Chip has a background of doing things a lot of different ways. I think everyone immediately goes to the spread offense and when he was at Oregon and some of the no-huddle stuff.

“He was at UCLA. You saw him do things with three tight ends in the game. Before that there was a lot of two-back stuff. There’s a lot of different versatility in his background. I think the idea is, all right, what fits our guys? It starts with the quarterback and then it goes to the offensive line, the running backs, the receivers, and how that all gets put together.”

Ryan Day thrilled to have Chip Kelly at Ohio State

Kelly hasn’t this much talent on an offense in quite a bit. Day pointed that out when discussing Kelly’s abilities to draw everything up.

“I think he would tell you he is very excited about what he has in terms of the talent level on the perimeter, up front, the running backs, the quarterback options, the tight ends. So that’s the journey that we’re on. You know, what is it that fits that,” Day said. “Then it’s my job as the head coach to make sure it fits complementary football across the board and that the offense is complementing the defense.

“In terms of the second part of your question, what he brings, you know, for me turning it over, I really wanted to have somebody that had head coaching experience. Now, never thought that you would have somebody that was a head coach the way he has been in college and in the NFL and that background. It allows me a little more of a peace of mind and certainly a lot of trust there.”

Once an employee of Kelly, Day wouldn’t have brought anyone else into the program for this specific situation.

“I trust Chip with my life, and that’s a big part of any time you are handing something over like that that you have done almost your entire career,” Day said.