Ryan Day began a new chapter in his coaching career last season.
Settling into more of a CEO-style role at the helm of Ohio State, he delegated offensive play-calling responsibilities.
It was a departure from his previous five seasons as the Buckeyes’ coach, but his staff included Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator.
Kelly is a longtime mentor for Day, beginning a quarter-century ago when he coached him at New Hampshire, providing a level of inherent trust between them. During Big Ten media days last year, Day said, “I trust Chip with my life.”
But the arrangement won’t change following Kelly’s departure for the NFL.
Brian Hartline, the wide receivers coach who was elevated to be the primary coordinator, will also call plays next season, Day said in an interview with The Dispatch this week.
“I’m still going to be a part of it,” he said, “but Brian is ready to call plays.”
Hartline, who was the co-coordinator with Kelly last season, was previously the primary coordinator in 2023, though the offense still ran through Day.
“I just felt like at that time that I wasn’t quite ready to give up the play-calling,” Day said.
A former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach before his promotion to replace Urban Meyer in 2019, Day has had more administrative roles in recent years due to changes within college football.
Along with helping to facilitate name, image and likeness opportunities and mining the transfer portal, he will also begin to manage revenue-share payments for players next season, provided the settlement of three antitrust cases against the NCAA is given final approval in April.
The issues have increasingly pulled him out of the weeds of game planning over his tenure.
Since he became the Buckeyes’ full-time receivers coach in late 2018, the 38-year-old Hartline has been regarded as an up-and-coming assistant due to the development of the Buckeyes’ pass catchers. Four receivers have been selected in the first round of the NFL draft since 2022.
But Day said he was also impressed by Hartline’s involvement in preparing the passing game for the College Football Playoff.
During four postseason wins that led to the Buckeyes winning the national championship, they averaged 289 passing yards per game, an uptick from the average of 254 yards during the regular season.
Day also praised Hartline’s maturity, pointing to a willingness to learn from Kelly last season.
While Hartline’s background is largely with the passing game and tight ends coach Keenan Bailey is to be his co-coordinator, Day mentioned offensive line coach Tyler Bowen will offer support with the running game.
Bowen, who holds run game coordinator as part of his title, was the offensive coordinator at Virginia Tech for the past three seasons.
“I think they’re going to work together really well,” Day said.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @joeyrkaufman or email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ryan Day says Brian Hartline will call plays for Ohio State in 2025
