Arthur Smith didn’t know Ryan Day well when Ohio State’s coach reached out to him about becoming the Buckeyes’ new offensive coordinator, but he knew plenty of people who had good things to say about Day and Ohio State.
The head coach who gave Smith his first opportunity to be an offensive coordinator, Mike Vrabel (then with the Tennessee Titans), is a former Ohio State defensive lineman. In his most recent job as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive coordinator, Smith coached several players who played for Day at Ohio State, including former Buckeye quarterbacks Justin Fields and Will Howard and former Buckeye defensive end Jack Sawyer.
All of the feedback Smith received from them convinced him that joining the Buckeyes was the right next step for his career.
“First, most importantly, was the respect I have for Coach Day, and he reached out, we had a good conversation and came down here and spent some time with him. And just kind of weighed my options, and I'd had such a good experience with some of the players that have come through here that I've gotten the privilege to coach, so I was intrigued,” Smith said Tuesday in his first interview session at Ohio State. “Kind of weighed my options, and talked to a lot of people, including Mike Vrabel, who's a great Buckeye, he’s a great friend of mine, and it just made sense.”
Arthur Smith said he wanted to come to Ohio State because of Ryan Day and the players the Buckeyes have sent to the NFL in recent years.
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) March 24, 2026
It just made sense, he said. pic.twitter.com/neX0AdZPI5
While Smith didn’t have a close relationship with Day before joining the staff, he had long appreciated Day and his Ohio State program, having attended Ohio State’s pro day multiple times and seen the NFL players Ohio State has developed.
“I didn't know him really well personally. We had crossed paths; I had talked to him the last couple of years coming through here on Pro Day, and obviously knew a lot of people that had played for him or worked with him, and had a lot of mutual admiration from afar,” Smith said. “I knew it from afar because I love the history of this game, and I understand how important this place is, especially in the history of football.”
Smith, who hadn’t coached in college football since a one-year stint as a defensive intern and administrative assistant at Ole Miss in 2010, said a move from the NFL to college football wasn’t something he had thought about much before he heard from Day. But he was in the market for a new job after Mike Tomlin’s resignation as the Steelers’ head coach, and chose the chance to coach at Ohio State even though he also had interest from multiple NFL teams.
“I was just kind of trying to weigh my options, the way that the season ended abruptly … it kind of hits you fast in these cycles,” Smith said. “But Coach Day was awesome. Getting a couple days, kind of weighed everything, talked to people, and I'm really just excited to get an opportunity, something different.”
One factor that convinced Smith he’d have a great opportunity was the success Matt Patricia had last year in his first season as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator. Like Smith, Patricia is a former NFL head coach and coordinator; now, he’s the highest-paid assistant coach in college football after leading the nation’s best defense at Ohio State in 2025. Day’s had a great track record with hiring former NFL head coaches as coordinators – another former NFL head coach, Chip Kelly, helped lead the Buckeyes to a national championship as Ohio State’s 2024 offensive coordinator – and Smith says his experience leading a team at the highest level has helped with his transition to Ohio State.
“That was another big reason I'm here, talking to (Patricia) after Coach Day reached out,” Smith said. “I think what happens sometimes, like in any industry, at least you understand what all happens in that office and comes across (Day’s) desk and you're a little more empathetic (when you’ve been a head coach) and you try to do your job really well so you can take that stress off so he doesn’t have to worry about the unit responsibility he gives you. And that's a big part of our job … you understand there's a lot that goes on in that job besides just coaching on the field, and so if you do your job really well, it just takes something off his plate.”
After coaching in the NFL for the last 15 years, Smith views the chance to coach in college as an exciting new challenge and an opportunity for him to grow as a coach.
“That’s really the thing you pride yourself on. We're always talking to players about growing, having that growth mindset, getting out of your comfort zone, and for me, it was a good challenge with where I'm at in my career,” Smith said.
The expectations for Smith will be just as high as they were for Patricia and Kelly. As Ohio State’s offense looks to bounce back from a rough end to the 2025 season, in which the Buckeyes scored just 24 combined points in losses to Indiana and Miami, Smith is being brought in for the job of building Ohio State’s offense back to a national championship level. But he’s excited about Julian Sayin, Jeremiah Smith and the rest of the talent he’s inheriting and embracing the championship expectations in Columbus.
“You don't go to Ohio State if you don't welcome those expectations, and it's the same thing in the NFL,” Smith said. “The expectation is to win every Sunday, and you love that challenge as a competitor, and it's kind of what gets you going as a coach.”
