Day: Won’t call plays; no O’Brien to BC update

Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior WriterFeb 7, 2024, 10:42 AM ET
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- College football reporter.
- Joined ESPN.com in 2008.
- Graduate of Northwestern University.

Ohio State football coach Ryan Day confirmed he’s giving up offensive playcalling for the 2024 season, although the status of his hand-picked successor, Bill O’Brien, will be determined in the coming days.

Last month, Day hired O’Brien as Ohio State’s offensive coordinator as part of a plan to turn over playcalling to the former Penn State and Houston Texans coach. Day has been involved with the Buckeyes’ playcalling since joining the staff in 2017.

But O’Brien is one of the top candidates for the head-coaching vacancy at Boston College. He interviewed for the job along with four other candidates Tuesday in Atlanta, a source told ESPN’s Andrea Adelson. Day said Wednesday that he has “no update” on O’Brien’s status with BC but that O’Brien was in the building working for Ohio State.

O’Brien, who grew up near Boston, spent last season as the New England Patriots‘ offensive coordinator. Boston College, which lost coach Jeff Hafley to the Green Bay Packers, is expected to make a hire by the end of the week, according to sources.

“It isn’t just one of those situations where you take out one guy and put another guy in there and move on,” Day said of the possibility that O’Brien leaves. “It doesn’t work that way. But yes, we talked to different people for that position and we have contingency plans in place. Hopefully, we don’t have to go down that road, though.”

Day struggled with the decision to give up playcalling and joked Wednesday, “I haven’t done it yet, so we’ll see.” But the realities of how college football has changed required him to pivot. He said O’Brien “checked all those boxes” for what he sought in a replacement.

“I know that is an ideal situation moving forward,” he said. “Do I want to? No. I don’t. I love the football part of it.”

As the Boston College decision looms, O’Brien is set to oversee a quarterback room that swelled in recent weeks with the transfer additions of Kansas State’s Will Howard and Alabama’s Julian Sayin, ESPN’s No. 9 overall recruit in the 2024 class. Howard started 27 games at Kansas State and has only one year of eligibility left. Ohio State also brings back Devin Brown, who pushed Kyle McCord for the starting job last year, as well as Lincoln Kienholz and another decorated incoming freshman, Air Noland.

Day expects a “fierce competition” at quarterback, beginning in spring practice.

“Will came here to play football, so I hope that’s his mentality, and I hope all the guys have that mentality,” Day said. “He’s got to learn the offense and get going.”