Story by
Brian Hartline to stay with Ohio State in postseason before departure
- Story by
- Brian Hartline to stay with Ohio State in postseason before departure
Brian Hartline will continue to serve as Ohio State's offensive coordinator through the College Football Playoff .
It will mean double duty for Hartline, who took the head coaching job at South Florida on Dec. 3.
Advertisement
Brian Hartline headed South Florida: Ohio State coordinator Brian Hartline named South Florida head coach
"The plan is for him to continue to be with the team," Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said, "which is a challenge for him, but that speaks to his character that he wants to make sure that he finishes this out the right way."
Brian Hartline has handled play-calling duties as Ohio State's offensive coordinator this season.
In his second stint as the primary offensive coordinator for the Buckeyes , Hartline has been the lead play-caller, helping them to maintain one of the highest-scoring offenses in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
The dual role is not unprecedented for coordinators. Ohio State saw Kevin Wilson and Jeff Hafley remain on the staff through the playoff in 2022 and 2019, respectively, after they were hired as head coaches at other schools.
Advertisement
"We'll help him along the way," Day said.
Day said the Buckeyes would reexamine the structure of their play-calling. It was only last season that Day, a former offensive coordinator who was elevated to lead the program in 2019, began delegating those duties for the first time. Keenan Bailey, the tight ends coach, is the co-offensive coordinator.
"We're going to look at that and see how it all works," Day said. "It's all happened really fast. That's probably been the biggest challenge for Brian and all of us. This just happened really, really quickly.
"The good news is we have great people and will have a plan to be able to move quickly. The goal for us and the players not to be distracted and just focus on what's important, make sure we put a good plan together, make sure we get the stuff in clean. We do have good people, and Brian is going to make sure he's doing what's right for the offense."
Advertisement
The announcement of Hartline's pending departure materialized only three days before kickoff between the top ranked Buckeyes and Indiana in the Big Ten championship game, which is pitting two unbeaten teams against each other for the first time in its 15-year history. Indiana is No. 2 in the playoff selection committee's latest rankings.
Day praised Hartline for his handling of the move, noting he kept them informed when the opportunity emerged.
If he had any issue, it was with college football calendar, which includes a typical hiring cycle that overlaps with nearly all of the postseason.
If the Buckeyes go on another national championship run through the 12-team playoff, they could play games as late as Jan. 19.
Advertisement
"The timing isn't great," Day said, "but that's not Brian's fault. That's other people's fault, and hopefully we can get some of this stuff addressed, but it's like that for everybody in the country. Instead of being upset about it, we're going to embrace it."
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com and follow along on Bluesky , Instagram and X for more.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Brian Hartline to stay with Ohio State football in CFP before move
