Ohio State hired former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith in late January, and the move drew plenty of pushback almost immediately. For a lot of fans, Smith is still defined by his time as head coach in Atlanta, where the Falcons went 7-10 in three straight seasons. After being fired, Smith resurfaced as the Steelers’ OC, where the offense finished 23rd in total offense at 319.4 yards per game and 16th in scoring in 2024, then slipped to 25th in total yards at 305.6 yards per game in 2025.
Still, Ryan Day clearly saw something he liked and moved quickly to bring Smith to Columbus after Pittsburgh’s playoff loss to the Texans. Smith replaces Brian Hartline, who has since taken over as the head coach at USF.
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On Monday, Fox Sports analyst and top college football voice Joel Klatt broke down Ohio State’s decision to hire Smith as offensive coordinator.
“I don’t think [OSU head coach] Ryan Day wants to have to worry about, look over the shoulder of, the offense,” Klatt said. “I really don’t. I think that he wants to be able to give the keys to the offense to a guy like Arthur Smith, just like he gave the keys to the defense to a guy like [OSU defensive coordinator] Matt Patricia.
“Now, he can be CEO, and he can worry about evaluating and valuating talent, and then fixing a problem here or there that arose. He was able to do that two years ago when Chip Kelly was the offensive coordinator, and he jumped in on the defensive side and allowed them to make some changes that ultimately led to a national championship. Last year, he was never really able to do that.”
Klatt makes some strong points, and with Matt Patricia returning in 2026, he sees Smith having a similar immediate impact on the Buckeyes’ offense. The idea is simple: Day doesn’t have to step in and help. Being a head coach is hard enough, and when one side of the ball demands more attention than it should, things can start slipping elsewhere.
Ohio State Buckeyes offensive coordinator Brian Hartline and head coach Ryan Day walk up the tunnel after warm ups during the NCAA football game against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich. on Nov. 29, 2025. Ohio State won 27-9.
Now, I’m not going to sit here and say the Ohio State offense was bad last season, because it wasn’t. There were, however, some growing pains and small details that needed to be cleaned up. Hartline is an elite recruiter and helped guide Ohio State to a top 26 finish in total offense, but it still felt like there was another level to reach. Because of Hartline departing for USF, Day stepped in to call plays during the CFP game against Miami, and it wasn’t all that inspiring. With Arthur Smith coming in, you get stability. You get a coach who has been around the block and won’t flinch when the lights are brightest, even if his NFL numbers don’t jump off the page.
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Klatt sees it the same way.
Sep 22, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith observes warm ups before the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
“[Ryan Day] knows what the blueprint looks like, and he can free himself up to be the CEO of the organization. In that respect, this all makes a lot of sense,” Klatt said. “Arthur Smith is going to have a veteran quarterback in Julian Sayin, the best wide receiver in college football in Jeremiah Smith, a 1,000-yard running back, most of his offensive line back—should be a really good offense. And, an offense that, in theory, could control the line of scrimmage and really do some damage up front.”
This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Joel Klatt defends Ohio State, Ryan Day’s Arthur Smith OC hire
