Oller: Ohio State coach Ryan Day leaves his first love even as Chip Kelly returns to his
Ryan Day is out. Chip Kelly is in.
The quarterback room, that is.
A somewhat curious role reversal is playing out on the Ohio State football coaching staff, where the head coach is moving away from his first love, and what he does best, so he can focus on what supposedly is best for the program. And the new offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach is moving into a role that makes him happy, and one that better suits his personality and talents.
“Freaky Friday,” meet freaky fall Saturdays, where a coach (Day) known as something of a quarterback whisperer won’t be whispering into his QBs' ears nearly as often. And a former head coach who took his team to the 2012 BCS national championship game is giving up control to do what he loves.
Unusual? You could say that.
Day, who over the past five years has developed three quarterbacks into first-round draft picks – 3½ if you count Joe Burrow, which I don’t, but some do, so claim him if you want, even though you shouldn’t – has handed the keys of the quarterback meeting room to Kelly, the former head coach at UCLA (2018-2023), Oregon (2009-2012) the Philadelphia Eagles (2013-15) and San Francisco 49ers (2016) who is Day’s mentor, longtime friend, former boss and shiny new offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach.
That’s a mouthful, but nothing compared to the ear full of words uttered by Day and Kelly on Tuesday after the first day of spring practice.
Between the two, they attempted to explain why a) Day won’t be sitting in on as many quarterback meetings and b) why Kelly would leave a UCLA head coaching job that paid him $5.9 million for a coordinator job that probably pays less than half of that. (Kelly’s salary has not been released, but with defensive coordinator Jim Knowles making $1.9 million, Kelly’s paycheck likely is in the same neighborhood).
Day first: “Chip is coaching the quarterbacks, and so much of what I learned was from him. … I’ll still be very much involved, but certainly Chip is going to run the meetings.” (Freshman quarterback Lincoln Kienholz confirmed Monday that Day has been a less frequent visitor to the QB meetings.)
“He’s coached it all for so long. He was my (college) quarterback coach,” Day continued, explaining why he feels comfortable handing off quarterback coaching to Kelly. “Even back in the NFL he had a huge hand in a lot of the quarterback meetings.”
Day, who was Kelly’s quarterbacks coach with the Eagles and 49ers, also likes that Kelly has coached multiple positions, which will allow him to take a less insular view of the QBs.
“The point of view of seeing it from all 22 (positions), sometimes guys get caught up in one position and can get a little narrow-minded,” Day said. “And when you’re the play caller you want to be lockstep with the quarterback. … If you’re in those meetings, and have intimate details on what exactly is being said, it allows you to call the game with more confidence, knowing both (coordinator and QB) are on the same page.”
Makes sense, but Day is the one who worked closely with Dwayne Haskins, Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud, helping turn them into Heisman Trophy finalists. He enjoyed picking their brains, girding them for the pressure they would face on the field and from fans and media. He’ll still be doing some of that, but the bulk of quarterback preparation now falls on Kelly.
Ever wish you could simplify your job? Be left alone to complete the task the way you know it should be done? Not have to manage everything from ordering staples to schmoozing clients?
Kelly wished it. Wanted it. And now has it. He won’t be able to completely blend into the background with the Buckeyes, but he no longer will be front and center. Perfect for him. He joked – at least I think he was joking? – that if the offense stalls he will be able to point to Day with a “Blame the boss” passing of the buck.
Overbearing boosters? Transfer portal headaches? Alumni meet and greets? Someone else’s problem. Kelly will have to recruit, which gets old when your passion is more in line with teaching the talent than with acquiring it, but Day likely still will be responsible for pursuing and signing the best quarterbacks.
Now, if the QBs don’t play well, that’s on Kelly. But the 60-year-old has enough of a winning track record in college, and exudes so much confidence, at times crossing into arrogance, that it would be surprising if OSU’s quarterbacks spit the bit.
And if they do? Talk to the man in charge.
“It’s more of a CEO operation right now,” Kelly said of head coaching jobs. “The job and landscape of college football has changed, so I just thought …”
Here is where the fast-talking Kelly flexes for the media, not as a guy bearing the heavy burden of being the boss but as an assistant coach who can be less buttoned up than the boss.
“There’s a story about John Lennon when he was a little kid that he had an assignment of what you want to be when you grow up, and he said, ‘I want to be happy.’ His teacher said, ‘I don’t think you understand the assignment.’ And his mom said, ‘I don’t think you understand life.’ ”
Pause.
“So I just want to be happy, and I’m really happy coaching a position.”
Not just a position. The position. Something tells me Kelly would not have traded head coaching duties and UCLA dollars to coach the tailbacks. Quarterbacks are his people. They were Day’s, too, but no more. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: ohio state football coaches ryan day chip kelly reverse coaching jobs
