Ohio State football overdue for staff changes, if Ryan Day makes tough calls he passed up before

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State football coach Ryan Day almost got it right last offseason.

He talked about it, anyway — perhaps more publicly than he had originally hoped. Coming out of last season’s second of now three straight losses to Michigan, Day considered giving up play calling responsibilities.

Day never talked like someone who wanted to give up play calling, you understand. Yet for a few months it appeared he might do it because of the chance it could help him, and the program, operate more efficienctly. With the roster management aspects of college football coming so quickly after The Game, Day recognized the benefits of a CEO-style head coach.

Day promoted Brian Hartline to offensive coordinator — the receivers coach’s first time wearing that title at any level. Then, whether spooked by his OC’s lack of experience or simply to connected to his quarterbacks to let go, Day decided to keep calling plays.

One year later, Day’s game management drew wide criticism following a 30-24 loss at Michigan. With another year outside the playoff looking likely, Day must ask some tough questions about the configuration of his staff. He also probably needs to answer them quickly.

The 10 countable coaches represent a limited, and therefore valuable, commodity. How Day chooses to distribute them has consequences. With the NCAA dragging its feet on potentially allowing teams to expand those staffs, Ohio State is overdue for rearrangement.

Some of the decisions should come easy professionally, though likely not personally.

The use of a full-time special teams coordinator with an offensive background made little sense when Day promoted Parker Fleming from the quality control ranks in 2021. It created an offensive/defensive imbalance among those 10 positions. (Only the 10 countable assistants can recruit off-campus, too.)

The only justification would be a clear and impactful advantage in scheme or production. Instead, starting with The Game last season and continuing through the Peach Bowl playoff semifinal and throughout this season, the unit struggled with communication and fundamentals.

It happened again last Saturday at Michigan. Ohio State’s only penalty came on an illegal formation on a punt. Xavier Johnson cost OSU both time and yardage when he did not fair catch Michigan’s final kickoff. The Wolverines easily won the head-to-head comparison on both placekicking and punting.

The only other current Big Ten programs who utilized a special teams coordinator with no positional duties this season were Michigan State — and that could change under new coach Jonathan Smith — and Nebraska. Purdue turns the duties over to an analyst. That’s a solution that makes a ton of sense.

James Laurinaitis must be one of the most overqualified graduate assistants in the country. Making him linebackers coach takes that job off defensive coordinator Jim Knowles’ plate. Again, what is the best use of 10 finite spots?

Day could have chosen not to retain Fleming when his contract was up for renewal after last season. Instead he gave him a new two-year deal and a raise. Now, the situation is downright uncomfortable.

Speaking of which, what to do about this play calling question? Hartline has freely admitted he is not a play-doodling nerd who refined his schematic chops with 10,000 hours of Madden on Xbox. We know Hartline dabbled in play calling during spring scrimmages and the spring game. When the season started, Day couldn’t pul the trigger.

The primary motivation for Hartline’s promotion, however, was not setting him up to call plays. There is no evidence he would be better at it than Day is — and while you may quibble with his game management at times, in terms of scheming things up, Day has real talent.

Hartline was promoted so Ohio State could both reward his status as one of the most talented position coaches in the country and to keep him as other overtures came in. Which means Day could probably assign co-offensive coordinators and make the other guy his play caller without ruffling too many feathers.

On many staffs, the OC doubles as the quarterbacks coach. Those were Day’s duties when he came to OSU in 2017. However, there have been no indications that quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis is being groomed for those duties. Tight ends coach Keenan Bailey aspires to that role someday, but he is completing his first season running a room, let alone an offense.

Dennis’ reputation in recruiting is solid, and OSU has not exactly lacked in quarterback production. Day’s continued oversight of that position complicates the evaluation of Dennis’ performance. Again, it’s a numbers game. It’s worth asking whether this is the best use of those limited positions.

If Day wants to hire a Jim Knowles for the offense — someone like himself — it would involve tweaking the staff elsewhere. When you watch Day on the game day sidelines — calling plays, arguing with officials, grabbing Kyle McCord as soon as he leaves the field to ask what the quarterback saw, presumably checking in on defense — you understand how some game management oversights happen.

Maybe that also explains why he prefers to keep a dedicated special teams coordinator in place. The more time he spends building the game plan or with the quarterbacks, the less oversight he can give in other areas.

For that reason, he thought long and hard about making big adjustments a year ago. The issue is at least as urgent today than it was then.