Knowing when to dial up a quarterback draw or slant pass to the tight end is easier than hitting a 80-mph curveball or 95-mph fastball, but similar to reading major-league pitching, the best college football offensive coordinators have an innate ability to make the right call at the right time.
They are born, not made. That does not mean a play caller who lacks an instinctual gift is doomed to fail. With enough experience, improvement is both possible and probable. But just as the best quarterbacks process information quickly, the best play callers come by their decision-making naturally. And you can’t teach that.
Was Brian Hartline born to do it? It will be fascinating, and for Ohio State fans perhaps a bit unsettling, to watch how things play out. Ryan Day has tabbed Hartline to call plays in 2025, following the exit of Chip Kelly, who left the Buckeyes in February to cash fat checks and call the offense for the Las Vegas Raiders.
Hartline, 38, is getting his first crack at designing a game plan and running point. Day named him offensive coordinator two years ago, but still called the plays in 2023. When he gave up play-calling duties last season, Kelly came aboard to handle that important responsibility. Day always will be available to support Hartline, and new offensive line coach/run game coordinator Tyler Bowen will have input as part of what should be a collaborative effort. But make no mistake, this is Hartline’s show. It’s time to sink or swim.
Brian Hartline will work himself to bone to succeed as play caller
A tireless worker with a teachable attitude, the positive spin is the Buckeyes will be just fine with Hartline. He may tread water for a bit, but eventually he will master his craft. And he has so much talent on offense that the former OSU receiver would have to bomb for the offense to screech to a halt. That isn’t going to happen. But what will?
This week, Hartline addressed his readiness and whether play-calling prowess is baked in at birth or learned much later. (My take: It’s both, but you better have some natural ability to “feel” the game come Saturday).
“I’ve never called a play in a game, so for me to have an opinion would be a little brash,” Hartline said of the “born or bred” question. “Like anything, it’s probably a skill you can improve on and do better at. Being surrounded by guys and seeing how they do it has been a blessing, and it’s very clear there is more than one way to do things.”
Hartline may not have an opinion, but others do. Former coach Gerry DiNardo, now an analyst for the Big Ten Network, can tell almost immediately if a play caller has “it.”
DiNardo excelled at innovative play calling during his evolution from offensive coordinator at Eastern Michigan and Colorado to head coach at Vanderbilt, LSU and Indiana, which is why he gets jazzed talking about play calling DNA.
“The way it’s usually talked about is, ‘Is play calling art or science?’ ” DiNardo said. “I like to say the play sheet being developed through the week is science, and the calling of the play sheet is art.”
Where the art of play calling differs from paint–on-canvas reality is that in college football the artist does not, or in DiNardo’s view should not, work alone.
“The (football) artist is governed by his position and chain of command,” he said. “Unlike an artist painting a painting, there is someone over his shoulder.”
Brian Hartline is fortunate to have Ryan Day on the headset
In Hartline’s case, it is Day, which is good for the program. It also serves the Buckeyes well that, at least from outside looking in, the play calling will run through several different filters. Hartline will make the initial call, with input from Bowen, and Day will monitor the system, being careful not to overrule except when drastic measures are needed.
DiNardo applauds the collaborative approach. He ran through all 18 Big Ten teams, intelligently guessing which rely on collaborative play calling and which allow the offensive coordinator total autonomy.
A sampling: Illinois, collaborative; Michigan State, collaborative; Iowa, coach Kirk Ferentz calls the shots, conservatively; Indiana, coach Curt Cignetti gives his offensive coordinator a ton of freedom; Washington is total free-wheeling from the OC.
“Ohio State’s situation is fascinating,” DiNardo said. “Clearly it was an art with Chip Kelly, with collaboration with Ryan Day. I think about their conversation in the Notre Dame game, when they threw that long pass (to Jeremiah Smith) on third-and-short. There was a specific conversation between Ryan and Chip on that play.”
Losing Kelly is no small thing, DiNardo said, calling it like he sees it by offering that there should be cause for concern.
“Brian Hartline is not Chip Kelly,” he said. “But Ryan will be on the headset.”
Despite his reservations, DiNardo does not think Hartline will make the mistake – or be allowed to make the mistake – of turning play calling into his personal acclaim project.
“There are some programs that it’s all about the offensive coordinator and his ego,” DiNardo said. “Programs that have OCs who think they are Picasso and there is no limit to what they want to do, and they don’t care how it impacts the defense or the kicking game. They see the offense as a program within the program. I always find those troubling.”
It’s hard to picture Hartline going that route. He continues to say all the right things about play calling being a team effort. Then again, we don’t know until we know.
Hartline’s inexperience notwithstanding, Ohio State is built almost perfectly for offensive success, according to DiNardo, who laid out best and worst-case scenarios.
“Collaboration is the best way, especially if the head coach is collaborative and has an offensive background,” he said. “The recipe for disaster is a head coach with a defensive background being the offensive coordinator.”
Hartline was smart enough to soak up every piece of information he could from Day and Kelly. He says he is up to the challenge of calling plays. His record of success coaching wide receivers and as a standout recruiter suggests he will succeed. Day has faith in him, which matters. The head coach having your back tends to bring out the best in an assistant.
But we shall see. It’s one thing to coach up Jeremiah Smith; quite another to design ways to get him, and everyone else, the ball.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Brian Hartline takes over Ohio State play calling for first time
