If I had to pick two more unlikely people to coach a team together, I think Arthur Smith to Ohio State would have been a great choice! I did not see this coming at all! Both have different ideas on offensive football; Arthur Smith loves the run….Ryan Day loves the pass. Ohio State has been built on the home run ball….Smith would rather pound you to death! How is this alliance going to work out?
So, who is Arthur Smith? Arthur is the son of Fred Smith, the founder and CEO of Fed Ex. Arthur played guard at North Carolina from 2001-2005. That explains his love of running the ball! In 2006, he was a grad assistant at North Carolina, and left for the Washington Commanders in 2007-2008. He then became a defensive intern at Ole Miss in 2010, his last stint as a college coach.
From 2011-2020, he was with the Titans as quality control for the offense, then to offensive coordinator. In 2019, the Titans won the AFC Championship and had the 4th best scoring offense in the league. In 2021, he became the coach of the Falcons and went 7-10 three straight years. In 2024 and 2025, he was the Steelers’ Offensive Coordinator, and had Aaron Rodgers, who threw for 3,322 yards and 24 touchdowns in 2025.
Most of his experience, as you can see, is at the pro level, sort of like the Buckeyes Defensive Coordinator Matt Patricia….and that worked out pretty well.
Arthur does have his critics who say his play-calling is predictable (don’t people say that about Ryan Day, too?), and he doesn’t know how to use high-profile stars. He prefers physical execution to schematic leverage, and his use of “Jumbo Packages” (3 tight ends) seems outdated to some. He was also criticized for his use of Desmond Ridder and Russell Wilson while with the Falcons. I will not put too much in that because Wilson was at the end of his career, and Ridder was not a first-string QB in my opinion, and a coach can only work with what he is given.
So, how is this going to work? Ryan Day is a great recruiter and a great manager… he is not a great offensive coordinator… he loves the pass too much, in my opinion. Arthur is the direct opposite; he loves the run. They will have to form some kind of partnership that allows both to thrive, a “Schematic Partnership” if you will. Smith will have little to do with recruiting, so he can concentrate on the offense, while Day can recruit and manage the monster that is Ohio State.
I am sure Arthur Smith will try to revive the OSU run game by going to wide zone runs and RPO’s (Run/Pass Options). Will Julian Sayin, the OSU QB, adapt to that? It seemed to me, he did not run much at all, and that was a downfall for the Buckeyes!
One other aspect is Smith will double down on “12-13” packages, using 2 or 3 tight ends on the field at once. Ohio State needs to get better in the Red Zone too, as they were 75th in the nation with a 66.67% success rate. Can Arthur Smith improve on that?
Arthur Smith is Ryan Day’s shot at another home run. His choice of Matt Patricia from the Pro ranks worked out well….will he find the same magic with Arthur Smith? That is yet to be seen, but I think it is worth the shot. Smith knows offense and running the ball, Day knows recruiting and management and the pass game….a holy marriage IF, and that’s a big IF, they can work together.
I, for one, am glad to see Ryan Day make more of a commitment to the run….that has been lacking for years, and I also think that adding Anthony Schlegel, a former linebacker for the Buckeyes, to the staff to help with strength will help too. Anthony is a no-nonsense go-getter who will work with the director for Sports Performance, Mickey Marotti. He will work the offensive line hard, and the other players too, something I think they desperately need: more toughness.
There are a lot of IF’s and speculation for Ohio State. Getting better on offense is a priority, along with the kicking game. Connor Hawkins, a former Baylor University kicker, a portal transfer, should help with the kicking inconsistencies. Matt Patricia seems to be the answer, so far, for the defense. Can Arthur Smith collaborate with Ryan Day and revitalize and toughen up the OSU offense? This is an experiment worth watching!
That’s the way I see it… from the sidelines.
