Ryan Day had all the right answers to address fan criticisms of the Ohio State offense in his first media opportunity of the spring session.

As expected, many of the questions focused on the addition of Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator.

In an offseason full of headline additions for the Buckeyes, hiring Kelly was arguably the biggest of them all. Pulling Kelly from a head coaching job at a Power 5 program (not just any Power 5 program, but incoming Big Ten member UCLA) grabbed the attention of the college football universe. Through Kelly’s ups and downs as a head coach, no one doubted his chops as an offensive play-caller.

Skeptics of the move will be quick to point out that Jimbo Fisher’s hiring of Bobby Petrino as offensive coordinator did not solve Texas A&M’s offensive issues in 2023. Texas A&M still had a rough season, and Fisher was fired, with Petrino finding a new gig for 2024. Taking Day at his word, Ohio State won’t have the same issues that plagued Texas A&M in 2023.

Fisher and Petrino were trying to mesh their offensive systems, which used different terminologies. Day made it clear on Tuesday that he and Kelly speak the same coaching language from their years working together in the NFL.

“The great thing for he and I is we see things the same way,” Day said. “He brings a background of running the football that is really impressive. We know what we need to do to run the football. I think he is excited about the guys we have.”

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A common concern shared among many college football fanbases is that head coaches are too involved in their team’s offense. With 10 on-field assistants allowed and the ability to hire armies of analysts and quality control staffers, there’s a growing feeling that head coaches need to be CEOs and delegate play-calling to dedicated coordinators.

Day says he’ll still be involved in the offense, which makes sense considering his background as an OC and QB coach. Day’s comments about Kelly being in charge of the quarterbacks should ease any concerns about being too involved.

“Chip is coaching the quarterbacks and so much of what I learned was from him,” Day told reporters. “We worked together in so many different areas. I coached for him. With the Eagles and the 49ers and with him, there was a lot of back and forth there.

“I still will be very much involved. But certainly, Chip is running it. He’s going to run the meetings and do all of those kind of things. There is a lot of give and take there as well and a lot of conversation. It’s a good group of quarterbacks. They’ve got really good leadership. They’ve had a really good off-season. All of the feedback we’ve gotten from Mick (Marotti) has been positive.”

Day talked the talk about Kelly on Tuesday, saying all the right things. These coaches are cut from the same cloth. They’re on the same page offensively.  By having Kelly as OC, Day can pay more attention to the “whole operation” as a CEO head coach.

All these changes should pay dividends for the Ohio State offense in 2024. Now, can Day walk the walk and follow through?

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