Buckeyes Now

Ohio State Promoting Keenan Bailey To Tight Ends Coach

Bailey will replace Kevin Wilson, who accepted the head coaching job at Tulsa, on the Buckeyes' full-time staff.

Andrew Lind

In this story:

As first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel and subsequently confirmed to BuckeyesNow by a school spokesperson, Ohio State is promoting senior advisor to the head coach Keenan Bailey to tight ends coach.

The 27-year-old Bailey will replace Kevin Wilson, who served as the Buckeyes’ offensive coordinator and tight ends coach but was recently named the head coach at Tulsa. It’s unclear who will replace him as offensive coordinator, though.

Bailey is in the midst of his seventh season at Ohio State, joining the program as an offensive intern in 2016. He then became an offensive quality control coach, working with the running backs, wide receivers and quarterbacks before being promoted to his current position last offseason.

In that role, Bailey assisted head coach Ryan Day and other coaches with game planning and recruiting. He also spent time with redshirt junior tight end Cade Stover over the summer, helping him develop from a defensive-minded player to an All-Big Ten performer.

“Keenan is probably the best-held secret in this whole entire place,” Stover said on Aug. 15. “I love talking to that dude. He helps me so much and he’s just a very, very smart mind with football.”

More News From Sports Illustrated: College Football Bowl Schedule | Ranking All 41 FBS Bowl Games By Watchability | The Heisman Finalists: Four Different Roads, Same Star Power | What Makes Each Heisman Finalist Special

Bailey had already stepped in for Wilson on the recruiting trail, as he was in Savannah, Ga., earlier this week to check in on 2024 four-star tight end Michael Smith. Smith's coach tweeted about the visit, foreshadowing Bailey’s promotion.

That said, Bailey won’t begin his on-field role until next month, as Wilson said this week he will remain with the Buckeyes through their College Football Playoff run. 

NCAA rules currently limit teams to 10 full-time assistants, so Bailey’s internal promotion also opens the door for Ohio State to do the same with the vacant offensive coordinator position.

Wide receivers coach Brian Hartline and offensive line coach/associate head coach Justin Frye, who previously served as the offensive coordinator at UCLA, are both potential candidates for that role.

-----

Get your Ohio State football and basketball tickets from SI Tickets. Also, be sure to check out our new message boards, Buckeye Forums. We'd love to have you part of the conversation during the season.

-----

You may also like:

39 Ohio State Football Players Earn Academic All-Big Ten Honors

Ohio State’s Harrison Jr., Johnson Named First-Team All-Americans By FWAA

Harrison Jr., Johnson Also Named Walter Camp First-Team All-Americans

Tennessee's Jalin Hyatt, Not Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr., Wins Biletnikoff Award

2023 CB Commit Jermaine Mathews Reaffirms Pledge To Ohio State

2023 Ohio State Safety Commit Malik Hartford Named Division I Co-DPOY

-----

Be sure to stay locked into BuckeyesNow all the time!

Join the BuckeyesNow community!
Subscribe to the BuckeyesNow YouTube channel
Follow Andrew Lind on Twitter: @AndrewMLind
Follow BuckeyesNow on Twitter: @BuckeyesNow_FN
Follow BuckeyesNow on Instagram: @BuckeyesNow_FN

Like and follow BuckeyesNow on Facebook!

Published
Andrew Lind
ANDREW LIND

Andrew Lind is an Ohio State beat writer and photographer at BuckeyesNow, founder of The Ohio State Uniform Database and the NCAA and NFL writer at SportsLogos.net.

Home/Football