Ohio State Buckeyes Coach Reveals Bold Goals for New Position

Ohio State Buckeyes offensive coordinator Brian Hartline has unveiled some honest thoughts on his promotion.

Ohio State Buckeyes co-offensive coordinator Brian Hartline arrives prior to the College Football Playoff National Championship against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Jan. 20, 2025. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It has certainly been a wild ride for Ohio State Buckeyes offensive coordinator Brian Hartline over the last several years.

After serving for five seasons as Ohio State's wide receivers coach between 2018 and 2022, Hartline was promoted to the role of offensive coordinator in 2023, and then he was kind of demoted in favor of Chip Kelly last season.

Now that Kelly is gone, Hartline is back to being the Buckeyes' play-caller again, and he has revealed some pretty bold goals for himself moving forward.

“The main objective is to learn as much as I can," Hartline said on The Bobby Carpenter Show. "I want to be, this sounds weird, but I want to be the smartest guy in the room every time I walk in that room, football-wise."

That's a pretty lofty goal, but he feels it won't be so difficult thanks to constantly being around head coach Ryan Day.

"People were like, ‘You were the coordinator, now you’re not the coordinator, how did you feel about that?’" Hartline said. "I was like, ‘Guys, hold on. My main goal is chasing Coach Day. I am not worried about what tag I have to be in this room. I have no interest in that.’ So, it was an easy transition, whatever transition we thought that was."

Hartline spent four years at Ohio State as a player between 2005 and 2008 and was then selected by the Miami Dolphins in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He enjoyed a very successful career as a wide receiver, posting back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns in 2012 and 2013.

The 38-year-old spent the first six years of his NFL tenure with the Dolphins before ending his career with the Cleveland Browns in 2015.

Now, he will be attempting to help the Buckeyes repeat as national champions, which is certainly no easy task. But he definitely seems prepared for the role.

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