A brief postseason break has ended with the Ohio State staff told to expect multiple coordinator changes, sources told FootballScoop on Friday.
Ryan Day informed the staff he plans to hire a new offensive coordinator and that coordinator will be empowered to evaluate the current staff and make new hires if he believes that will improve the team, sources said. Brian Hartline, a Buckeye alum who has recruited and developed multiple first-round picks including reigning Biletnikoff Award winner Marvin Harrison, Jr., is considered to be safe though. Quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis is on an expiring contract.
Hartline has held the coordinator title this season for the Buckeyes, though sources reaffirmed to FootballScoop that Day has remained intricately involved in the offense.
Changes are believed likely to occur in all three phases for the Buckeyes. It is expected that Buckeye special teams will have new leadership next season, and Ryan Day is also expected to make a change on the defensive staff as well.
The AFCA Convention opens in earnest Sunday in Nashville; it's long been viewed as a job-seeking and job-filling event, though the college football calendar has been greatly accelerated into earlier changes in recent years.
Multiple sources told FootballScoop on Friday that members of the Buckeyes' staff already have spoken with some outside programs around the country.
The changes come after one of the most disappointing 11-2 campaigns in college football history. The Buckeyes started 11-0 before losing a third straight year to Michigan and then, with a heavily compromised offense, lost 14-3 to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl.
Day is 56-8 overall and 41-3 against Big Ten competition at Ohio State, but his 5-season tenure has seen the balance of power in the conference shift from Columbus to Ann Arbor after 15 seasons of Buckeye dominance. The Wolverines have won three straight games in the series, and on Monday night will play Washington for their first national championship since 1997.
No matter who dons the coordinator headset, the Ohio State offense will look different in 2024.
Kansas State transfer Will Howard will compete with sophomore Devin Brown for the starting quarterback job and, if tight end Cade Stover declines to use his extra season and receiver Emeka Egbuka opts for the NFL, Ohio State's leading returning receiver will be rising sophomore Carnell Tate, who caught 18 passes this fall.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.