When news of the hiring of former Pittsburgh Steelers‘ offensive coordinator Arthur Smith to take the offensive coordinator position at Ohio State broke, it didn’t make too many waves across the college football universe. We think it’s a bit of an underappreciated hire, but we get a feel for what kind of marriage this is throughout the season next year.
But that hasn’t stopped some media members from weighing in, and one of those moments came via the Pat McAfee Show when ESPN Senior Writer Pete Thamel appeared on the show with McAfee and former OSU linebacker and frequent co-host A.J. Hawk. Thamel explained the changing landscape of college football and how there’s been a trend of NFL coaches coming to the ever-changing college game to rehab their image, but then reacted to the hiring, saying he was “a little surprised” by the hire.
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Thamel didn’t go on to criticize the move made by head coach Ryan Day or Smith, but just pointed out how more closely aligned to the NFL the college game is starting to become and how appealing it could be for a guy like Smith to come to a place like Ohio State and have a talent advantage in the large majority of the games that he coaches in.
You can listen to the entire segment below, thanks to the Pat McAfee X account.
While this might be looked at as a growing trend, let’s remember that Ohio State has made this type of move before, well before the so-called trend. It had Greg Schiano on staff as well as Chip Kelly, and of course, Matt Patricia, joining the fray last season. Seems Ohio State might be the bar setter on this one.
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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Ohio State hire of Arthur Smith leaves ESPN writer ‘surprised’
