Ohio State hires Arthur Smith, former NFL head coach and play caller, as offensive coordinator
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Welcome back to the Bill and Doug show. It's a live edition. Ohio State hired an offensive coordinator. So Doug LaMaurice and Bill Landis are going to talk about it. Bill Landis, what do you think of this hire? Arthur Smith, who was calling plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers like 17 days ago, is now going to be calling plays for the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2026.
Yeah, a couple of things. Like, not at all surprised that it's an NFL guy coming to Ohio State to do this. It was just sort of like...
Who is Arthur Smith and what is his new role at Ohio State?
Which of these play callers who's kind of like flapping in the wind is going to be like the odd man out, right, as teams kind of shuffle their coaching staffs. And Arthur Smith's name is one that was coming up for a couple of NFL coordinator jobs, and those didn't land for him. Perhaps if he had held out longer, maybe something would have shaken out for him, but instead he's going to come to Ohio State. I will say, like, in terms of Arthur Smith's, like, lean and expertise – It's not the way that I thought Ryan Day was going to go, but now that we do know that it's Arthur Smith, there are a couple different ways that it certainly makes sense that we can get into. I don't know. Good, bad, I don't know, which I guess is what people don't want to hear.
But the fact that Ohio State's coordinators are two former NFL head coaches is kind of crazy.
What are the implications of hiring an NFL head coach as an offensive coordinator?
It is. I think that's the importance. So you're a ball knower. I'm a vibes knower. I don't care. about lean, about expertise, like the NFL determined this guy was good enough to be an NFL play caller. And he got a head coaching job based off being a play caller. And what I care about is, is the resume there is the experience there. And as Ryan day going to fully trust this guy, that's what I care about the most is Ryan day going to fully trust this guy to run the Ryan day, Ohio state offense and offer some tweaks, offer some fresh ideas, right? And I think the answer to that is yes, yes, yes, and yes. And this is like the Matt Patricia hire, which I think has to color all of our opinions on this because a year ago he made a similar hire and there were people who were like, I don't know about this.
Except there's really, there's none of these things. Oh, were there? I can't remember who it was. somebody we don't have to care about their opinions, but that had some obvious downsides with Matt Patricia that aren't here with Arthur Smith. Here's the thing. He got fired as NFL head coach. If he didn't get fired as NFL head coach, he wouldn't be in this job. You're not getting Sean McVay to come take this job. So if you're looking to the NFL, you're automatically going to have some things that the guy did wrong, which is why he might consider taking a college OC job. But then within that, this guy has never been fired as an OC.
Oh, that's true. I mean, he's only been missing twice, but yeah.
He was an offensive coordinator. He was so good at it. He got a head coaching job. He got fired from that and he immediately got an offensive coordinator job and then his boss quit. And that's why he's on the market, right? He's not on the market because they're like, oh my God, this fricking guy, he's lost it completely. It's like Mike Tomlin was like, I'm good. And Arthur Smith was like, what? I still need a job. And he was getting interviews. So, Like, honestly, I can see a little bit. If you're – I'm not telling Ohio State fans how to think. I don't know what you want.
What do you want? I don't know.
How does Arthur Smith's coaching style differ from previous coordinators?
Yeah, yeah. I mean – If you don't want this, what do you want? Give me a name. If you're in the chat and you don't like this, give me the name that you want instead.
Yeah, I think like something, yeah, I don't know, because you wanted experience, right? Like I think there are some younger NFL types that could have been exciting but would have brought like zero play calling experience and wouldn't, I think, be viewed sort of as like the adult in the room that I think everybody was sort of on board with the idea of Ohio State needing to run the offense because everyone else on the staff is like 30 years old.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:06–0:37
2
Who is Arthur Smith and what is his new role at Ohio State?
0:37–1:29
3
What are the implications of hiring an NFL head coach as an offensive coordinator?
1:29–3:58
4
How does Arthur Smith's coaching style differ from previous coordinators?
3:58–7:50
5
What challenges does Ryan Day face with this new hire?
7:50–9:43
6
Why is having experienced coaches important for Ohio State's success?
9:43–13:17
7
What does Arthur Smith's resume reveal about his qualifications?
13:17–20:17
8
How does the hiring strategy reflect Ohio State's ambitions?
20:17–52:24
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from The Bill and Doug Show: Ohio State Football Talk
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Inside Ohio State spring practice No. 4: Matt Patricia adjusting, how Buckeyes have an edge on Bama