Five Candidates To Replace Brian Hartline As Offensive Coordinator At Ohio State
Candidates are likely to be very excited to replace Brian Hartline as offensive coordinator of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team. Hartline left Ohio State to become the head coach at the University of South Florida.
While his loss is significant for the Buckeyes, there are plenty of good candidates for the position. This article will discuss five potential candidates for the position, and you have probably heard about all of these candidates: Chip Kelly, Brian Daboll, Joe Morehead, Mike Shanahan, and Bill O’Brien. Do you think the eventual hire for the offensive coordinator at Ohio State will be?
Candidates For the Ohio State Offensive Coordinator Position
Ohio State has not yet interviewed candidates for their now vacant offensive coordinator position. However, the list of potential fits for the position read like a who’s who of football. The first candidate is a recently fired offensive coordinator of the Las Vegas Raiders. Kelly was the offensive coordinator for Ohio State last season. He left to become the highest-paid coordinator on the offensive side with the Raiders.
A second high-profile potential offensive coordinator for Ohio State is the former head coach of the New York Giants football team, Brian Daboll. Ohio State insider Austin Ward recently broke down why Daboll’s resume and relationships make him a logical option. “Brian Daboll, I don’t think, is going to get the Penn State job. I don’t know if he wants the Penn State job,” Ward said. “He [Daboll] has a built-in relationship with Matt Patricia… he is also a pretty decorated tight end coach. So then that would make sense with the way that you’re restructuring that staff… He also spent some time on Nick Saban’s staff.”
Another candidate for the offensive coordinator position at Ohio State is Mike Shanahan. Shanahan is the Indiana offensive coordinator and wide receiver coach. His offense led all Power 4 teams with 44.3 points per game. He has worked with Curt Cignetti since 2016, so he might be inclined to stay in Bloomington until he gets a head coaching job. His proven track record as both an offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at Indiana would make him a good candidate to call. He was a candidate to become a member of the Professional Football Hall of Fame.
A fourth candidate for the offensive coordinator position of the Ohio State Buckeyes is Akron Head Coach Joe Moorhead. He was one of college football’s top offensive coordinators at Penn State and Oregon before becoming the Zip’s head coach in 2022. He had his best season so far with Akron in 2025, leading them to a 5-7 season, but the opportunity to compete for national championships at Ohio State could be tempting, while his offensive expertise and Midwest roots would make him a qualified choice to lead the offense.
Another candidate is Bill O’Brien, who has been linked to Ohio State before. Boston College recently committed to keeping him on as their head coach for the 2026 season, but he is definitely under pressure to perform after a 2-10 campaign this year. If Ohio State Head Coach Ryan Day offered O’Brien another opportunity to coach Julian Sayin, a quarterback he once recruited to play for him at Alabama, might he be tempted to leave Boston College for a more secure job?
Conclusion
Ohio State is likely to interview these candidates after the College Football Playoff. This is because Hartline has agreed to stay on with the Buckeyes through the playoff. Also open for the Buckeyes is the position of wide receiver coach, a position that Hartline occupied. If Ohio State goes external with an offensive coordinator position, expect them to stay internal to find candidates for the wide receiver coach position.
