Pieces fall into place for Chip Kelly to join Ohio State as offensive coordinator
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The pieces fell into place Friday for a coach with major college and NFL experience to come to Ohio State and join coach Ryan Day as his offensive coordinator and play-caller.
UCLA coach Chip Kelly resigned on Friday after going 35-34 over six seasons, hours before offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien left Ohio State to become head coach at Boston College. Hours after that, the Buckeyes named Kelly to his new post.
Kelly, known for leading Oregon to the 2010 national championship game and brief runs coaching two NFL teams, has deep ties with Day.
Day played quarterback at New Hampshire from 1998 to 2001 with Kelly as the offensive coordinator, and his first coaching job was with Kelly there in 2002. When Kelly became an NFL head coach, Day worked under him again with Philadelphia and San Francisco, leaving the 49ers in 2017 to become Ohio State's offensive coordinator. He became the permanent head coach in 2019.
Less than a month ago, Day hired former New England offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien to run the Buckeyes offense after a coaching change with the Patriots. But that was short-lived once Boston College made O'Brien its coach and brought him back to Massachusetts.
The same reports that earlier had O'Brien leaving for Boston College quickly linked up Kelly and Ohio State.
The move comes as UCLA leaves the Pac-12 along with three other West Coast schools to join Ohio State in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes and Bruins were not scheduled to play in 2024.
Day was adamant on shaking up the offense and giving up play-calling duties. The Buckeyes have lost two their past two bowl games and haven't beaten Michigan since 2019, despite going 40-7 in that time.
Since the offseason began, quarterback Kyle McCord transferred to Syracuse and Ohio State added Will Howard from Kansas State. Running back Quinshon Judkins transferred in from Mississippi, too. Top returning players on offense include running back TreVeyon Henderson and receiver Emeka Egbuka.
Ohio State opens the season on Aug. 31 against Akron at Ohio Stadium.