Rob Harley, a familiar name for Ohio State fans, has stepped into the role of interim head coach at Northern Illinois. This move comes after Thomas Hammock, who had been at the helm since 2019, departed to join the Seattle Seahawks as their running backs coach.
Harley, who donned the Buckeyes' colors from 2001 to 2005, has been making waves in the coaching world. He joined Northern Illinois in 2025 as their defensive coordinator, bringing with him a wealth of experience from his previous stint at Arkansas State, where he served as the defensive coordinator from 2021 to 2024. Before that, he sharpened his coaching skills at Pittsburgh and FIU, focusing on linebackers, and began his coaching journey at Ohio Dominican under the guidance of Bill Conley.
In an interesting twist of legacy, Harley is the great nephew of Ohio State legend Chic Harley. Now, he's set to guide Northern Illinois as they make the leap from the MAC to the Mountain West Conference in 2026. Should NIU decide to keep Harley on as head coach, he will join the ranks of seven Ohio State alumni leading FBS programs this year.
Harley's appointment marks him as the third former Buckeye to become a first-time FBS head coach this offseason, alongside Brian Hartline at USF and Mike Jacobs at Toledo. They join a distinguished group of former Ohio State players and staff, including Luke Fickell at Wisconsin, Marcus Freeman at Notre Dame, Eddie George at Bowling Green, and Alex Golesh at Auburn, who was a student assistant under Jim Tressel.
The Buckeye coaching tree continues to grow, and Harley’s new role at Northern Illinois adds another branch to this impressive lineage. As the Huskies prepare for their conference transition, all eyes will be on Harley to see how he steers the program into this new chapter.