Ohio State’s offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has already landed in one of the most watched jobs in college football, and his name is now being floated for something even bigger if the Buckeyes’ attack takes off this fall.
Smith, a former head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, arrived in Columbus after spending the last two seasons as the offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He joins an Ohio State staff that also features another former NFL head coach in Matt Patricia, who is leading the defense.
The Buckeyes have become a landing spot for coordinators who don’t stay long. In the last two years, both of Smith’s predecessors on offense - Chip Kelly and Brian Hartline - moved on to new jobs.
Adam Rittenberg of ESPN wrote that Smith could draw college head coaching interest if he gets the most out of a loaded group that includes Julian Sayin, Jeremiah Smith, and Bo Jackson.
"Patricia isn't the only former NFL coach on Ohio State's staff who could be tempted to lead a college program," Rittenberg wrote. "Smith, 44, returned to the college game after a 15-year stretch in the NFL, including three seasons as Atlanta Falcons head coach and three seasons as a pro coordinator.
"His management of Ohio State's talent-stocked offense will be under the microscope this fall. Smith is a North Carolina grad with ties to the state of Tennessee and elsewhere."
Smith, for his part, has sounded upbeat about the talent he inherited. Earlier in camp, he said the Buckeyes have given him plenty to work with.
"These guys have been awesome," Smith said, via eleven warriors. "The progress we've made from spring to how we started camp, we just gotta keep stacking these days.
"And these guys are competing, and we've got a lot of depth, and we've got a lot of competition, which is an awesome thing to have."
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If the draft holds, the Indiana game would land in the noon window on FOX with Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt on the call, while Oregon would get a 3:30 p.m. FOX slot with Brad Nessler and Charles Davis. For Ohio State, the network placement matters almost as much as the opponent in a season built around marquee dates, and these early TV hints only sharpen the intrigue around two games that should carry plenty of weight in the Big Ten race. [Read more 🡒]