Ryan Day has his work cut out for him this offseason after winning his first national championship in January. On top of replacing a bevy of NFL talent on both sides of the ball that is finally heading off to the league, Day has two important openings to fill on his coaching staff at offensive and defensive coordinator.
Penn State made sure that Day had to replace his DC, poaching Jim Knowles away from Columbus with a contract that will pay him over $3 million a year. However, James Franklin didn’t have anything to do with offensive coordinator Chip Kelly’s departure for the NFL.
A year ago, Bill O’Brien left Columbus a few weeks after he was hired as offensive coordinator to become the head coach at Boston College. The move led Kelly to flee his post as the head coach of UCLA to become the OC under Day, his former quarterback when he was the play-caller at New Hampshire many years ago. Kelly was motivated by the opportunity to return to coaching and play-calling instead of the overwhelming administrative and team-building responsibilities that fall at the feet of a college football head coach. Now, however, it’s unclear what Kelly’s motivation is for leaving the Buckeyes to call plays for Pete Carroll, the newly instated head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.
During the first six years of his tenure, Day held onto his play-calling duties, orchestrating some of the most dynamic offenses in the country for Justin Fields and CJ Stroud, who both eventually became first-round NFL draft picks. However, facing a three-year losing streak to Michigan and unable to get over the hump, Day turned to Kelly last offseason to run an offense led by Kansas State transfer Will Howard. Day and Kelly led the Buckeyes to dominant offensive performances in the College Football Playoff, but now the duo has been broken up, likely leaving Day to reclaim play-calling duties unless he can find a suitable replacement.
Ohio State finished 2024 on top, but so far in the race for the Big Ten title in 2025, Penn State has won the offseason. The Nittany Lions didn’t just land Knowles to run their defense, they retained quarterback Drew Allar, running back tandem Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, and key defensive starters like Zane Durant, Zakee Wheatley, and Dani Dennis-Sutton. With so much change in Columbus, the pressure is on Franklin to beat the Buckeyes for just the second time since he took over the program in 2014.