Ryan Day reveals if Brian Hartline will call plays as Ohio State offensive coordinator

After Chip Kelly’s departure for the NFL, Ryan Day is keeping things in-house for his next offensive coordinator. Brian Hartline will take the role – and Day said he will call plays, as well.

Ohio State hasn’t officially announced Hartline’s promotion, but Day confirmed the plans for him to succeed Kelly as OC during an interview with WBNS-TV. The architect of the Buckeyes’ wide receiver room, Hartline co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach from 2023-24, but never called plays.

Now, it’ll officially be his show. But Day said the work Hartline did in the back half of the season jumped out and proved his patience paid off by staying at Ohio State.

“You talk about sacrifice,” Day said. “Here’s a guy who, he was named coordinator, and I ended up calling the plays that year. But he grew that year. And then, we decided to bring in Chip, and he had to take a step back. But he learned from Chip, and I thought down the stretch, he did some of his best work I’ve seen him as a coach. Some of the passing install, the route concepts, the coaching that was done right there was a high, high level. Certainly, Keenan [Bailey] helped him a lot, Billy [Fessler] helped him a lot and I was much involved with it. But you could just see him growing as the season went on. His understanding of protections.

“Some guys would say, wait a minute, ‘I’m going somewhere else. He didn’t name me the coordinator.’ Now, he’s going to be the coordinator. Now, he’s going to call plays. That loyalty and that patience is going to pay off, and I think he’s going to be the best coordinator in the country.”

How Ohio State is supporting Brian Hartline as play-caller

Brian Hartline, a former star receiver at Ohio State, made his mark on the recruiting trail as the Buckeyes’ wide receivers coach. He helped bring in names such as Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Jameson Williams, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Marvin Harrison Jr. to Columbus – all of whom became first-round picks in the NFL Draft.

Emeka Egbuka is also widely regarded as a first-round pick in this year’s draft, and Jeremiah Smith is the crown jewel under Hartline’s watch after putting together a standout freshman season. Five-star wide receiver Quincy Porter is also one of the headliners of Ohio State’s 2025 recruiting class.

Now, Hartline will get the keys to the offense, in addition to his duties as wide receivers coach. But as a first-time play-caller, Ryan Day said experience was important as he rounded out the offensive staff.

While Keenan Bailey will be co-offensive coordinator and Billy Fessler will be quarterbacks coach, the key hire was offensive line coach and run game coordinator Tyler Bowen. His experience as a play-caller at Virginia Tech, Day said, will be important to helping Hartline adjust to the new responsibilities.

“This is a guy who has three years of play-calling experience at Virginia Tech,” Day said. “He’s been very well-respected everywhere he’s gone. I think he brings a lot to the table. For Brian being a first-time play-caller, here’s another guy in the room working on the run game who has been a play-caller, as well. I think that’s really important because you look at it from a different lens when you’ve been a play-caller before.

“He played offensive line, he knows the offensive line really, really well. He knows the run game really, really well. I think they’re going to mesh really well together. … He’s very, very talented.”