Ryan Day is excited to have Chip Kelly and James Laurinaitis on the Ohio State coaching staff. “I LOVE HAVING CHIP ON MY SIDE”
Seven weeks after the Cotton Bowl, Ohio State’s 2024 coaching staff has been finalized.
On Thursday, Ohio State coach Ryan Day promoted James Laurinaitis from graduate assistant to linebackers coach, completing the coaching staff. Day promoted Chip Kelly as his new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, following Bill O’Brien’s departure from OSU to become the head coach at Boston College. O’Brien was hired as OSU’s initial offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for 2024.
Ohio State currently has five assistant coaches on both sides of the ball as the 2024 season begins. On offense, Kelly joins returning assistants Tony Alford, Brian Hartline, Justin Frye, and Keenan Bailey, while on defense, Laurinaitis joins Jim Knowles, Larry Johnson, Tim Walton, and new safeties coach Matt Guerrieri.
While Ohio State’s coaching staff took a little longer than planned to complete up, Day is happy with the group he has assembled.
“It is our responsibility every year to recognize which areas need to be improved, whether with the team or with the employees. And we’ve worked extremely hard, and we’ve spent a lot of time thinking about who should be in which seats. So now it’s time to get to work,” Day said Friday in a brief interview after his presentation at the Ohio High School Football Coaches’ Association clinic.
Day reunites with Kelly after previously playing for him at New Hampshire, where Kelly was the offensive coordinator while Day was the starting quarterback, and serving as Kelly’s quarterbacks coach while Kelly was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers in the NFL. Kelly’s previous relationship has made the shift to Day’s crew easier.
“Chip and I have a long history together, so we see things the same way. And it’s been fantastic to get him started here,” Day stated. “He’s got a lot of excitement walking around the building, meeting the guys, so it’s been a great start.”
Day dismissed the idea that having the coach he had worked for now working for him would be unpleasant.
“It’s great,” Day said. “All I know is I love having Chip on my side.”
“CHIP AND I OBVIOUSLY HAVE A LONG HISTORY TOGETHER, SO WE SEE THE SAME THINGS THE SAME WAY. AND IT’S BEEN EXCITING TO GET HIM GOING HERE.”
– RYAN DAY ON NEW OHIO STATE OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR CHIP KELLY
Day said he decided to promote Laurinaitis based on both what he has shown as a coach in his first year at Ohio State and the work he has done on the recruiting trail since taking over as Ohio State’s 10th traveling assistant following the firing of former special teams coordinator Parker Fleming in January.
Day believes Laurinaitis, like Hartline, does an excellent job of drawing on his playing experience and using it to his advantage as a coach. Hartline had a similar path to where he is now, having played at Ohio State and in the NFL before beginning his coaching career at OSU as a quality control coach.
“First and foremost, he is familiar with and enthusiastic about Ohio State. “He has credibility with the players and recruits because he has done it,” Day said of Laurinaitis. “And not only did he accomplish it, but he did it at an incredible level and in the NFL.
“But I’ve been impressed with how he’s transitioned from player to coach.” I believe that James and Brian were players that made the most of their opportunities on the field. So, as they go from the NFL to college, they apply a lot of what they’ve learned, particularly in the latter years of their NFL careers, to assist players on the field. As a result, I’ve seen a lot of fantastic things from him. I had the opportunity to observe him on the road (recruitment) in the last several weeks. Did an incredible job. There’s a lot of momentum, so we thought it was the appropriate decision.”
