Ohio State football promotes James Laurinaitis to linebackers coach
Ohio State has promoted James Laurinaitis to linebackers coach, the school announced Thursday.
Laurinaitis, 37, a former All-America linebacker for the Buckeyes, spent last season as a graduate assistant.
The hire adds a 10th full-time assistant to round out Ryan Day’s coaching staff for next season. Laurinaitis signed a two-year agreement, according to a news release. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The assistant coach vacancy was caused last month when Day fired Parker Fleming, the special teams coordinator for the past three seasons.
To fill the spot, Day considered replacing Fleming with another dedicated special teams coach or adding a defensive assistant. By elevating Laurinaitis, he opted for the latter, and special teams responsibilities are likely to be divided among the staff.
Laurinaitis has made a quick rise in coaching since he left the broadcasting business two years ago.
A commentator on the Big Ten Network and sports talk radio co-host on 97.1 The Fan following his retirement from the NFL, he became a graduate assistant at Notre Dame in 2022.
It reunited him with Marcus Freeman, the Fighting Irish’s coach who was also a former linebacker at Ohio State. They were teammates together with the Buckeyes from 2005-08.
Laurinaitis then joined the Buckeyes’ staff in the same role last winter and was heavily involved working with the linebackers, standing out to defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.
Speaking with reporters before the Cotton Bowl in December, Knowles said Laurinaitis had been “really important.”
“You got a guy who's a three-time All-American, a true Buckeye, a Silver Bullet,” Knowles said. “He handles a lot of the linebacker things that allow me to free up and do work in other areas. He's really been critical to our success.”
More: Join the Ohio State Sports Insider text group with Bill Rabinowitz, Joey Kaufman Adam Jardy
Knowles, who has led the Buckeyes’ defense for the last two seasons, had also been coaching the linebackers as their primary position coach.
With Laurinaitis as part of the full-time staff, it lightens the load for Knowles and also balances the staff between both sides of the ball.
The Buckeyes now have five defensive assistants after they had four on staff in recent years. There have been five on offense.
In other staff promotions announced, secondary coach Tim Walton added assistant head coach to his title and was awarded a contract extension, while Knowles, as well as tight ends coach Keenan Bailey and defensive line coach Larry Johnson, received extensions.
The deals for Knowles and Walton are through 2026 with those for Bailey and Johnson through 2025.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch and can be reached at jkaufman@dispatch.com.
Get more Ohio State football news by listening to our podcasts
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football promotes James Laurinaitis to linebackers coach
