Joel Klatt Reveals Reason Behind Ryan Day and Ohio State Hiring Chip Kelly

Following the exit of Bill O'Brien, Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day turned to his trusted friend, Chip Kelly.

Following the exit of Bill O'Brien, Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day began his second search for a new offensive coordiantor this offseason.

This time around, he wasn't going to take any chances, hiring his close friend and former boss Chip Kelly to take over the offense.

And as college football analyst Joel Klatt recently revealed in his podcast, the decision to pursue Kelly made all the sense in the world.

Why? Because of Day's implicit trust in Kelly. 

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“When you're at square one and when your back is against the wall, you tend to lean on those you trust," Klatt said. "There is not a person in this business that Ryan Day trusts more than Chip Kelly. And now Kelly will leave UCLA to take the offensive coordinator position at Ohio State. That's quite wild. But as soon as Bill O'Brien left... it was Chip to Ohio State. It made a lot of sense."

Of course, Kelly's status as one of the premier offensive minds in the sport - whether it be at the NFL or college level obviously played into the decision as well.  

That said, Kelly and Day's history is undeniable. 

“Now, he'll work for what I would call his best friend in the profession, maybe even overall," Klatt said. "They have a history. Chip coached Ryan Day at New Hampshire. It makes all the sense in the world. There's nobody that Ryan Day trusts more in this sport than Chip Kelly.

The two go way back, with Day serving as Kelly's quarterback at New Hampshire from 1998-2001. The two were also both on the New Hampshire staff in 2002, with Day as tight ends coach and Kelly as offensive coordiantor.

Flash forward to 2015 and the two were once again coaching together, this time with the Day serving as the Eagles QB coach under Kelly. One year later, Kelly took over as the head coach of the 49ers, with Day following him - once again as the QB coach.

Chip Kelly a 'Tremendous Match' for Ohio State

Now, Kelly heads to Columbus to reunite with Day and will have all the talent in the world at his disposal. 

So much talent that Klatt thinks - in combination with Kelly - the Buckeyes could finally have regained the edge over Michigan. 

"Remember, over the past three years, part of what has gotten Ohio State beat against Michigan is that Michigan was the better team running the football," Klatt said. "Last year, Ohio State was 88th in the country running the football. That needs to get better, and it will. Ryan Day's main objective is to beat Michigan, and I think he's diving into that. Nobody has had a better offseason than Ohio State. This adds to that.”