Finally, seven weeks following the Cotton Bowl, Ohio State’s coaching staff for 2024 is set.
The promotion of James Laurinaitis from graduate assistant to linebackers coach by Ryan Day on Thursday marked the final assembly of Ohio State’s coaching staff. This promotion occurred six days after Day appointed Chip Kelly as his new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Bill O’Brien had left OSU to take a position as head coach at Boston College, three weeks after being hired as the team’s initial offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for 2024.
With Kelly joining returning assistants Tony Alford, Brian Hartline, Justin Frye, and Keenan Bailey on offence and Laurinaitis joining Jim Knowles, Larry Johnson, Tim Walton, and new safeties coach Matt Guerrieri on defence, Ohio State will have five assistant coaches going into the 2024 season.
Even though Ohio State may have taken a little longer than anticipated to assemble a coaching staff, Day is happy with the group he ultimately assembled.
Every year, it is our responsibility to determine which areas—whether related to the team or the employees—need to be modified. And to make sure the appropriate guys are in the proper seats, we’ve put in a tonne of effort and thought about it a lot. In a brief interview on Friday after his talk at the Ohio High School Football Coaches’ Association clinic, Day stated, “So now it’s time to go to work.”
Day rejoins Kelly following stints under him as quarterbacks coach for the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers, as well as playing for him at New Hampshire, where Kelly was the offensive coordinator and Day was the starting quarterback. Kelly’s appointment to Day’s crew has gone well because of their shared past.
“Obviously, Chip and I have a long history together, so our perspectives are similar. And seeing him take off here has been fantastic,” Day remarked. “It’s been a great start; he’s excited to meet the guys and walk around the building.”
The idea that it could be difficult to have the coach he used to work for suddenly working for him was dismissed by Day.
Day exclaimed, “It’s great.” “I just know how much I enjoy having Chip by my side.”
“CHIP AND I OBVIOUSLY HAVE A LONG HISTORY TOGETHER, SO WE SEE THE SAME THINGS THE SAME WAY. AND IT’S BEEN EXCITING TO GET HIM GOING HERE.”
Regarding Laurinaitis, Day stated that he made the decision to elevate him based on the coach’s performance in his first season at Ohio State as well as the effort Laurinaitis made during the recruiting process after he was appointed as Ohio State’s 10th travelling assistant after Parker Fleming, the previous special teams coordinator, was fired in January.
Laurinaitis does a great job of drawing from his playing experience and using that to his advantage as a coach, much like Hartline, who followed a similar path to where he is now, having played at Ohio State, in the NFL, and beginning his coaching career at OSU as a quality control coach.
To begin with, he is familiar with and devoted to Ohio State. Regarding Laurinaitis, Day remarked, “He has credibility with the players and he has credibility with recruits because he has done it.” “And not only did he succeed in doing it, but he succeeded in the NFL at an incredible level as well.
However, I’ve been amazed by how well he’s made the switch from player to coach. I believe that Brian and James were players that made the most of their opportunities on the pitch. They therefore apply a lot of what they’ve learned to assist players on the pitch as they go from the NFL to college, particularly in the later years of their NFL careers. I’ve witnessed numerous amazing things from him. I had the chance to observe him when he was recruiting during the past few weeks. performed a fantastic job. We thought that was the proper thing to do since there is a lot of momentum.
