OC HIRED
Ohio State hires former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith as its next OC.
In 2025, Ryan Day brought in a former NFL head coach to be the head coach of his defense, and it yielded great results. Day is now following that same blueprint on offense.
Ohio State hired former Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator and Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith as its OC on Saturday. Smith brings six years of NFL play-calling experience with three years as a head coach to the Buckeyes' coaching staff.
While reservations exist about Smith's tenure as Steelers OC and his heavy use of 12 and 13 personnel, great coordinators know how to mold the scheme to the talent they have. Hiring former NFL head coaches with years of professional-level play-calling experience has worked well for Day previously, not just with Matt Patricia as defensive coordinator in 2025 but also with Chip Kelly as OC in 2024. And pairing Smith with Patricia should only make both of them better as they go head-to-head in practice and work together on their game plans.
It’s been clear in recent years that Day is at his best when he has two coordinators he can trust to run the show on both sides of the ball, allowing him to focus more on the big picture and operate as the CEO that college head coaches have to be in 2026. That’s exactly what the hiring of Smith should allow him to do, especially since the expansion of the coaching staff will allow Smith to focus on overseeing the entire offense rather than coaching and recruiting a specific position.
Eleven Warriors' Andy Anders and Dan Hope break the hire down on a Saturday night edition of Press Coverage, which you can watch at the top of the page.
