Day: O’Brien checks all the boxes
COLUMBUS — Ryan Day recently spoke publicly for the first time since choosing to make a few changes to Ohio State’s coaching staff, which includes bringing in a new offensive coordinator.
Day hired long-time coach Bill O’Brien to take over running the offense which will also include taking play-calling off his plate. It was a significant move for Day to make. Play-calling has been part of his identity since he first arrived as a coordinator in 2017.
In his first public appearance since those decisions, Day joined ESPN Cleveland’s “The Really Big Show” with Tony Rizzo and Aaron Goldhammer to discuss his decision to give up play-calling and bring in O’Brien.
“Every year, you have to look and identify the things you want to tweak and change,” Day said on the show. “I felt like this was important for a lot of reasons. The landscape of college football has changed. Where my focus needs to be has changed. Bill brings a tremendous amount of experience to the table.”
O’Brien has been coaching in college and the NFL for 31 years, including stints as a head coach at both levels. He’s coached the likes of Tom Brady and Deshaun Watson in the NFL while also helping
Bryce Young win the Heisman Trophy at Alabama in 2021. He brings with him a track record of success when it comes to quarterback play while also having coached in the Big Ten, spending two years as Penn State’s head coach.
He fit the description Day was looking for: a guy who would not only take over play-calling but also a quarterback group with five scholarship players and no incumbent starter.
“I wouldn’t have done it with just anybody,” Day said. “Bill’s experience being a head coach in the conference (at Penn State), being a head coach in the NFL, being at Alabama for two years and the success he had there with Bryce Young fits very well with what we need in the program.”