Ryan Day got his start in coaching and several of his most prominent roles in the industry learning under Chip Kelly. Now, he's bringing back his long-time mentor to work under him.
Ohio State has reportedly landed on Kelly, the head coach at UCLA, to be the program's next offensive coordinator, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel. The news comes just hours after it was reported Bill O'Brien would be leaving the Buckeyes to be the head coach at Boston College after he accepted the OSU position three weeks earlier.
Kelly has long been rumored to be looking to exit UCLA this offseason. He was the head coach of the Bruins for six years, but interviewed for several offensive coordinator positions, largely in the NFL this offseason. Kelly guided UCLA to three straight winning seasons, including an 8-5 campaign in 2023, and will depart the program just as it prepares to enter the Big Ten in 2024.
MORE: Why did Bill O'Brien leave Ohio State?
Why did Ohio State land on him to guide the offense? Here's what you need to know.
Why did Ohio State hire Chip Kelly?
The moment it was reported O'Brien was considering leaving Ohio State for the Boston College opening, all eyes seemed to turn toward Kelly. And for good reason.
Kelly has a long-standing relationship with Day. As a quarterback at New Hampshire from 1998-2001, Day learned from fellow Manchester, N.H., native, Kelly, who was the offensive coordinator at the time.
When Day got into coaching, he took a job in 2002 as the tight ends coach at New Hampshire where he worked for a season under Kelly. Day went on to take coaching positions at Boston College, Florida and Temple before being hired by Kelly as the Philadelphia Eagles QBs coach The next year, Kelly and Day left for San Francisco where they were head coach and quarterbacks coach, respectively.
Day left for Ohio State after the 2016 season when Kelly was fired. Kelly took a season off and was an analyst at ESPN before he was hired by UCLA to be the head coach.
The familiarity between Day and Kelly certainly helps, but that connection is not the only reason many believed Kelly to be a likely hire for the Buckeyes. Kelly is considered to be an innovative offensive mind, particularly when it comes to drawing up running plays.
In particular, Kelly became most well-known as Oregon's head coach from 2007-12, when he helped power the Ducks to a national championship appearance behind an up-tempo offense.
And at Ohio State, he's going to have some weapons at his disposal. The Buckeyes landed transfers from Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins and Kansas State quarterback Will Howard. Judkins forms a dynamic running back tandem with TreVeyon Henderson, back for his senior year, while Howard offers a more mobile skillset than the past two Ohio State signal-callers.
That's all to say nothing of the stellar wide receiving talent in Emeka Egbuka, Carnell Tate, Brandon Innis and No. 1-rated freshman signee Jeremiah Smith who will look to take big steps up after the departure of Marvin Harrison Jr. to the NFL draft.
Ohio State has struggled to establish a dominant running game in recent years that can take the pressure off the passing attack and set up more manageable downs. Between the talents on the roster and Kelly calling the shots, the Buckeyes have a chance to roll out one of the more dynamic rushing offenses in recent years.
