Nearly a week into the offseason, one of the biggest questions looming over the Ohio State football program is whether Ryan Day will bring in a new offensive play caller and/or quarterbacks coach.
There’s a strong case to be made that he should after Ohio State’s offense had by far its worst season of his tenure in 2023, averaging only 30.5 points per game – more than 10 points fewer than any of his previous seasons on staff.
While Day has continued to call offensive plays and spend much of his time working with Ohio State’s quarterbacks throughout his first five years as the Buckeyes’ head coach, the decrease in offensive performance this season suggests it’s time for Day to start delegating that responsibility. That doesn’t mean that Day should completely remove himself from offensive game planning or quarterback development, but hiring a veteran offensive coordinator and/or an experienced quarterbacks coach to lead those efforts could allow Day to spend more time focusing on all of the other aspects of being a head coach.
Ohio State could potentially hire one coach to fill both of those roles by replacing Corey Dennis, who is rumored to be on his way out after four years as OSU’s quarterbacks coach. Current offensive coordinator Brian Hartline is expected to remain with the Buckeyes, but it’s unclear whether Day will consider giving him play-calling duties, as Day did not do so this past season despite promoting him to offensive coordinator following Kevin Wilson’s departure.
As of Friday morning, Ohio State had not announced any departures from the 2023 coaching staff and had not had any confirmed interviews with potential candidates to join the staff, so it remains purely speculative as of now who could join the Buckeyes’ staff for 2024. But there are plenty of coaches around college football and in the NFL who Day could consider calling if he chooses to revamp his offensive coaching staff.
While it’s uncertain how much interest each of the following coaches would have in the job, we’ve identified a list of coaches whose résumés and current situations could make them logical fits to join Ohio State’s coaching staff.
Will Stein, Oregon offensive coordinator
Ohio State hired a Broyles Award finalist the last time it hired a new coordinator (Jim Knowles), and the Buckeyes should shoot high again if they choose to bring in an offensive play-caller. Out of the four offensive coordinators who were Broyles Award finalists this year, Stein is the most likely to be an actual target for the Buckeyes.
In his first year as Oregon’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, the Ducks ranked second in the entire FBS in points scored (44.2) and yards gained (530.7) per game. A former Louisville quarterback, Stein helped Bo Nix become a Heisman Trophy finalist while leading the FBS in completion percentage (77.4) and touchdowns (45).
Given that Ohio State’s offensive staff already skews young, the Buckeyes might ideally want to hire a coach with more experience than Stein, who has only been a full-time assistant at the Power 5 level for four years, spending the first three of those seasons at UTSA. But he’s a rising star in the profession who’s in line for a raise either at Oregon or elsewhere after making $800,000 in 2023.
Joe Brady, Buffalo Bills interim offensive coordinator
If Ohio State wants to hire an actual Broyles Award winner, it could attempt to lure Brady back to the college football ranks after four years in the NFL.
Brady was the hottest assistant coach in college football in 2019 when he helped lead one of the best offenses in college football history as LSU’s passing game coordinator. He played an integral role in helping Joe Burrow evolve from a projected middle-round draft pick in 2018 to winning the Heisman Trophy in 2019 as LSU’s offense put up record-setting numbers; Ohio State is now hoping to achieve similar results with a fifth-year senior transfer quarterback of its own after landing Will Howard.
His results in the NFL have been more mixed as he lasted just two years as the Carolina Panthers’ offensive coordinator. He’s currently the interim offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills, so a promotion to the full-time job would likely keep him in the league. If not, his proven track record at the collegiate level combined with his NFL experience would make him a great choice to lead Ohio State’s offense.
Joe Moorhead, Akron head coach
Whether Moorhead would leave a head coaching job for an offensive coordinator job is unknown, but the Buckeyes could certainly offer him a pay raise over what he’s currently making at Akron ($620,000), where he’s only won four games in two years.
While Moorhead hasn’t had a lot of success as a head coach, he has a great track record as an offensive coordinator; most recently at Oregon, where he was the offensive coordinator when the Ducks beat Ohio State in 2021. He’s been a thorn in the Buckeyes’ side at multiple stops, as he was also the offensive coordinator at Penn State when the Nittany Lions defeated OSU in 2016.
With more than three decades of collegiate coaching experience, including experience coaching in the Big Ten and in the state of Ohio and a background of leading successful offenses and developing quarterbacks, Moorhead would check a lot of boxes for what the Buckeyes could be looking for.
Dan Mullen, former Florida head coach
Mullen might be content to stay in the world of broadcasting, as he’s been an analyst for ESPN for the past two years, but he’s another coach who would check a lot of boxes for an offensive play caller/quarterback coach job.
Before his 13 combined seasons as the head coach at Mississippi State and Florida, Mullen was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Urban Meyer at Florida, where he helped Tim Tebow become a Heisman Trophy winner. Before that, Mullen was Meyer’s quarterbacks coach at Utah, where he helped Alex Smith become a No. 1 overall pick.
Mullen has existing ties to Ryan Day, too, as they worked together at Florida when Day was a graduate assistant for the Gators in 2005. Both of them grew up in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Dan Mullen was the head coach at Florida from 2018-21 and was Tim Tebow’s offensive coordinator when he won the Heisman Trophy. (Photo: Denny Medley – USA TODAY Sports)
Doug Nussmeier, Los Angeles Chargers quarterbacks coach
Given that the Chargers will soon be bringing in a new head coach after firing Brandon Staley, Nussmeier is likely to find himself back on the job market after just one year in Los Angeles. He’s spent much of his coaching career at the collegiate level, so it’s certainly possible he could move back into the college ranks for the right job.
Nussmeier has a decade of experience as a collegiate offensive coordinator including stints at four marquee programs: Washington (2009-11), Alabama (2012-13), Michigan (2014) and Florida (2015-17). Before joining the Chargers, Nussmeier spent five years with the Dallas Cowboys, including three years as their quarterbacks coach.
His son, Garrett Nussmeier, is the rising starting quarterback at LSU, so he’d have to decide whether he wants to coach at a different college football program. But he has the kind of experience Ohio State could be looking for.
Dino Babers, former Syracuse head coach
Ohio State has a track record of hiring fired head coaches as assistant coaches, and Babers could be the next assistant to fit that mold. Syracuse’s head coach for the last eight years, Babers has nearly four full decades of collegiate coaching experience, including offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach stints at Arizona and Texas A&M.
Babers was reportedly on Gene Smith’s shortlist to become Ohio State’s head coach when Meyer retired before Day was promoted, so his hiring would likely come with plenty of support from the athletic department. He has a background in the state of Ohio as well, having been the head coach at Bowling Green in 2014 and 2015.
It’s been two decades since Babers has been a quarterbacks coach, but he could be a fit nevertheless considering Day’s influence on that position won’t be going anywhere.
J.T. Barrett, Detroit Lions assistant quarterbacks coach
Barrett was already viewed as a potential future Ohio State coach before he even finished playing for the Buckeyes, so the three-time Ohio State captain and holder of most of OSU’s career passing records would certainly be an intriguing choice to lead the Buckeyes’ quarterback room.
Ohio State could look for someone with more coaching experience than Barrett, given that he’s only been in coaching for two years, especially if it opts to hire a quarterbacks coach who can double as an offensive play caller. Barrett has never coached at the collegiate level, so hiring him as a full-time position coach right now would be a bit of a risk.
Barrett’s experience playing quarterback for the Buckeyes, though, is something no other potential candidate for the job can match – at least now that Kenny Guiton has already accepted a new job as the wide receivers coach at Wisconsin. Hiring a former Ohio State player with limited coaching experience worked for the Buckeyes with Hartline, which could make them more inclined to do it again.
J.T. Barrett (right) is in his second year as an assistant coach with the Detroit Lions. (Photo: Kirthmon F. Dozier/USA TODAY Network)
Jerrod Johnson, Houston Texans quarterbacks coach
In his first year as the Texans’ quarterbacks coach, Johnson has helped lead former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud to one of the best seasons ever for an NFL rookie quarterback.
That could lead to an offensive coordinator opportunity at the NFL level sooner than later, but it certainly makes him a candidate worth vetting for the Buckeyes, too.
Like Barrett, Johnson has never coached at the collegiate level nor does he have any coordinator experience, and he’s in only his first season leading a position group of his own. But the former Texas A&M quarterback has a bit more coaching experience than Barrett, having started coaching in 2017, and the 35-year-old looks to be a rising star in the profession.
Joe Philbin, Ohio State senior advisor and analyst
Ohio State already has an experienced offensive mind in the building who could potentially take on a bigger role in Philbin, a former NFL head coach and offensive coordinator with 40 years of coaching experience between the NFL and collegiate levels.
Given the offense’s struggles this season, though, an external hire for the offensive coaching staff makes more sense than promoting from within. Philbin’s background is in coaching offensive linemen, not quarterbacks, so promoting him would be more likely to come at the expense of Justin Frye than Dennis. And it’s been rumored that Philbin could be in line for the offensive coordinator job at Iowa.
Bill O’Brien, New England Patriots offensive coordinator
O’Brien just left the college ranks to return to the NFL last offseason, but his tenure as New England’s offensive coordinator could be short-lived if the rumors about the Patriots parting ways with Bill Belichick are true.
With a résumé that includes head coaching jobs with the Texans and at Penn State, helping the Patriots win multiple AFC championships and helping Bryce Young win the Heisman Trophy as Alabama’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2021, O’Brien would bring an intriguing blend of experience to Ohio State if he returned to the collegiate level.
His stock certainly isn’t at its highest point right now, though, as the Patriots’ offense ranks dead last in the NFL in points scored per game this season.
Frank Reich, former Indianapolis Colts head coach
Josh McDaniels, former Las Vegas Raiders head coach
These are probably the longest shots on this list, so we’ll group them together. Reich and McDaniels are both probably far more likely to be NFL assistants than collegiate assistants next year, given that they’ve both spent their entire coaching careers in the NFL save for one year as a Michigan State graduate assistant by McDaniels, but they’d fit the bill if they were interested.
It wouldn’t be unprecedented for Ohio State to hire a recently-fired NFL head coach as a coordinator – Greg Schiano made his return to coaching at OSU after he was fired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – and Reich and McDaniels are both Super Bowl-winning offensive coordinators with extensive experience coaching quarterbacks at the highest level.
McDaniels is from Ohio while Reich is from Pennsylvania, so it’s not too big a stretch to think that coaching at Ohio State could hold some appeal for them. But it would still be a surprise if either of them went directly from NFL head coach to collegiate assistant, considering both of them will likely be courted for NFL offensive coordinator jobs.
