Ryan Day Explains Saban-Style Strategy That Keeps Ohio State’s Offense Elite

Ohio State’s offense is going to look largely different in its personnel outside of superstar wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. Even the coordinators have changed, with Brian Hartline getting the promotion after Chip Kelly spent 2024 in Columbus.

But head coach Ryan Day said at Big Ten Media Days that he’s worked to provide stability in the Buckeyes' schemes throughout his nine seasons with the program. It’s a tactic that worked well for another coach who won a few national championships in the SEC.

“I watched from afar coach [Nick] Saban do that when he was at Alabama, you know, have different coordinators move around,” Day said. “And so whether it's the offense or the defense, we want to have continuity year after year, even though a coordinator may leave, to create stability long term.”

Saban didn’t keep the same offense his entire 17-year run at Alabama, but after Lane Kiffin’s influence brought an explosion of offense to Tuscaloosa from 2014 through 2016, Saban kept many of the same principles through the rest of his tenure. Prominent offensive minds like Steve Sarkisian and Bill O’Brien put their own spin on it, but that serves to prove Day’s point about keeping stability despite the coaching changes.

“You know, Chip brought in his own ideas, but we tried to keep the offense the offense,” Day said. “And that was one of the things that he and I sat down and talked about on the front end, that this is going to be the Ohio State offense. There's certain things that you like to do that we're going to embrace.

“I knew that, you know, Chip may not be here for very long, and that was part of the understanding when he came in. But when he left, we can't just all of a sudden, you know, have a whole new offense.”

Now it’s Hartline’s turn as a first-year playcaller to orchestrate the offense. While there are still aspects to work out, such as who will be the starting quarterback, Day is confident in his new offensive coordinator to keep the momentum going for the Buckeyes.

“Brian's strength is in the passing game. And I think he's really grown,” Day said. “He's grown from a really good player to a really good coach. And now the next progression is to become a really good coordinator.”

Day mentioned that calling the plays is the easy part for Hartline; it’s the little things like managing the staff, maximizing player personnel, and making in-game adjustments that can be the difficult aspect of the job.

There might be some growing pains, which are tough to afford with Texas first up on the schedule, but the continuity is a benefit to the players and coaches alike. It’s a wise tactic from the national champion coach that preserves Ohio State’s spot at or near the top of the college football mountain.