Ohio State is predicted to rent Arthur Smith as its subsequent offensive coordinator, sources inform CBS Sports activities’ Matt Zenitz. The previous head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, Smith spent the final two seasons because the offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
At Ohio State, Smith will take over an offense that has run like a well-oiled machine below coach Ryan Day as he replaces Brian Hartline, who took the pinnacle teaching job at South Florida. Smith is the second former NFL head coach employed by Day in a three-year span. Chip Kelly ran the Buckeyes’ offense in 2024, serving to the group win a nationwide championship earlier than returning to the NFL.
This previous season, the Buckeyes had been the No. 1 group within the nation earlier than falling to eventual nationwide champion Indiana within the Huge Ten Championship. After having a first-round bye, Ohio State then fell within the School Soccer Playoff quarterfinals to Miami, the nationwide runner-up.
In Columbus, Smith inherits a star-studded group on offense headlined by quarterback Julian Sayin and receiver Jeremiah Smith. However Smith hasn’t coached within the faculty ranks since 2010 when he was a defensive intern at Ole Miss. Previous to that, he was a graduate assistant at North Carolina, his alma mater, in 2006 after he performed for the Tar Heels as an offensive lineman from 2001-05.
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Smith, nevertheless, does have intensive NFL expertise having labored for 4 completely different franchises. He spent the majority of his teaching profession with the Tennessee Titans, the place he labored his method up from a defensive high quality management coach to offensive coordinator below Mike Vrabel, an Ohio State alum. Smith then parlayed that success into a training job with the Falcons.
In his three seasons with Atlanta, Smith went 21-30 — three straight 7-10 finishes — and not using a playoff look. After his firing, Smith landed with the Steelers as their offensive coordinator in 2024.
In Smith’s first season main the offense — and with a mixture of Justin Fields and Russell Wilson at quarterback — Pittsburgh ranked sixteenth within the NFL at 22.4 factors per recreation. This previous season, with Aaron Rodgers below heart, that quantity rose to 23.4 factors per recreation. That ranked fifteenth within the league.
The Steelers gained the AFC North however fell in blowout trend to the Houston Texans within the wild card spherical. Quickly after, longtime coach Mike Tomlin stepped down. Earlier Saturday, the Steelers agreed to rent Mike McCarthy as their subsequent coach.
