How will Ohio State football coach Ryan Day fill out on-field staff?
Joey KaufmanWhen Ohio State coach Ryan Day fired special teams coordinator Parker Fleming last month, it left an opening for an assistant.
The Buckeyes have been one full-time member shy from completing their on-field coaching staff.
But it might not be long before they hire a 10th assistant coach.
Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said he is about a week away from settling on someone for the vacancy after speaking with candidates in recent weeks.
“We have some flexibility,” Day said. “We can go in a couple of different directions.”
The dilemma for Day, who said he remains undecided on how to fill the spot, is whether to hire a defensive assistant or special teams coach.
Adding another assistant to the defense would balance the staff, leaving Ohio State with five on each side of the ball and special teams responsibilities potentially divided among the staff. Day acknowledged Matt Guerrieri, the newly hired safeties coach, could take on some of them.
But it would be a bit of a departure for Day, who has maintained a dedicated special teams coordinator in the configuration of each of his staffs since he was promoted to replace Urban Meyer.
That included Matt Barnes in 2019 and 2020 before the promotion of Fleming, who had been a quality control coach.
On Wednesday, Day expressed a willingness to take either option.
“Both of those options are on the table,” Day said. “I feel comfortable going with either direction. But finding the right guy is going to be what is important.”
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One variable beyond navigating a pool of candidates is the fate of Bill O’Brien, the former coach for Penn State and the Houston Texans who was also hired last month as the Buckeyes’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Day is planning to turn over play-calling duties, but the delegation could be complicated if O’Brien leaves for Boston College, where he has been linked to the school’s head coaching job, a vacancy created last week when Jeff Hafley left to become the defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers.
If Day is able to step into a CEO head-coaching role, he would be more hands off with the offense and more involved in other areas such as special teams, reducing the need for a full-time coordinator.
Day said a greater involvement on special teams would allow him with additional opportunities to be around more of his players and other areas on Saturdays.
“It allows you opportunities as someone who is managing the game to have an idea of when it’s time to block a punt or return, those type of things,” Day said. “Ideally, that’s what I would like to do. We’ll just keep putting one foot in front of the other and go from there.”
Day did not identify any potential candidates to round out his staff, though James Laurinaitis has been seen as a possibility.
Laurinaitis, a former All-America linebacker for the Buckeyes who was a graduate assistant last season, was on the road recruiting for the Buckeyes last month as a replacement.
Day said the experience was “good for him and he’s done a really nice job.”
It was not until 2022 when Laurinaitis became a graduate assistant at Notre Dame that he had entered the coaching profession. Following his retirement from the NFL, he spent several years as a sports-talk radio host in Columbus and color commentator on the Big Ten Network.
In his first year returning to the Buckeyes, he coached the linebackers with Jim Knowles, the defensive coordinator who handles the position group.
“I’ve been really impressed,” Day said. “He has a really bright future in coaching. He’s only been doing it a couple years. Playing has allowed him to give perspective and he also has a lot of credibility with the guys.”
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch and can be reached at jkaufman@dispatch.com.