Ohio State OC Hot Board: Could Ryan Day Steal Chip Kelly From UCLA?

Bill O'Brien's tenure as offensive coordiantor of the the Ohio State Buckeyes lasted all of three weeks. Now, the search is on for a replacement.

The Ohio State Buckeyes will once again be on the hunt for a new offensive coordinator, with Bill O'Brien reportedly expected to become the next head coach at Boston College.

O'Brien, who was in Columbus for all of three weeks before the news of his next job broke, was expected to take over as the playcaller for the Buckeyes, with Ryan Day set to take a step back in that department. 

And while that is still expected to be the case with the next offensive coordinator, that could change depending on who lands with the Buckeyes. 

With that in mind, here is BuckeyesNow.com's hot board for Ohio State's next offensive coordinator, beginning with a familiar face to Day.

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Chip Kelly - UCLA Head Coach

The popular name of the moment, Kelly and Day 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. 

On paper, their relationship makes sense. That said, the one hangup that is hard to get around is that Kelly would ostensibly be taking a demotion to move from UCLA's head coach to the Buckeyes offensive coordiantor. 

It would certainly be an unprecedented move, but one that is also not outside of the realm of possibility. In fact, some might even call Kelly the favorite. 

Jason Candle - Toldeo Head Coach

An Ohio native, Jason Candle has spent his entire career coaching in the state and knows it like the back of his hand. He has been Toledo's head coach since 2015, and has been with the team in some capacity since 2009.

Over that time, he amassed a head coaching record of 65-35, including an 11-3 mark in both 2017 and 2023. 

This past season under Candle, Toledo ranked No. 30 in the country in scoring (32.3 ppg), 16th in rushing (198.57 ypg) and 39th in total offense (419.2 ypg) - ranking above the Buckeyes in each category. 

Joe Moorehead - Akron Head Coach

Joe Moorehead is intimately familiar with the Big Ten and Ohio, having served as the offensive coordinator for Penn State in 2016 and 2017, and coaching for a total of seven years in the state - two of which have been as a head coach of Akron. 

Moorehead also has Power 5 head coaching experience, spending two seasons with Mississippi State. 

In his first season at Penn State in 2016, Moorehead led the Nittany Lions to the No. 21 ranked scoring offense in the country (37.6 ppg) and No. 49 total offense (432.6 ypg). A year later in 2017, Penn State ranked No. 6 in scoring offense (41.1 ppg) and No. 19 in total offense (460.3 ypg).

Brian Johnson - Former Eagles Offensive Coordinator

Recently let go by the Eagles, and reportedly on his way to a job with the Washington Commanders, Johnson may be a long shot. However, as we have seen with this very program, it's not unprecedented to leave one job for another after recently being hired. 

Johnson has plenty of playcalling experience, serving as the offensive coordinator and QB coach for Utah in 2012-13, Houston in 2017, and Florida in 2020. He was also the QB coach for the Eagles in 2021 and 2022 and served as the offensive coordiantor in 2023.

Brian Hartline - Ohio State Co-Offensive Coordiantor/ WR Coach

Of course, there is always the possibility that the Buckeyes stand pat at the position, and give Brian Hartline - the current co-offensive coordinator and last year's full-time offensive coordinator - the chance to call plays. 

We don't anticipate this and expect this would be a fallback option if nothing else materializes.