3 things to know about the Ohio State football hiring of Arthur Smith

When you have the type of success Ohio State football has had, there's bound to be some coaching turnover, and we have definitely seen that. The most recent efforts came in the way of finding a replacement as offensive coordinator with the hiring of Brian Hartline as USF's new head coach. That search finally came to an end on Saturday with multiple sources confirming that the Buckeyes are set to hire former Pittsburgh Steelers' offensive coordinator Arthur Smith as OSU's guy.

It's not the splashy hire many in Buckeye Nation may have been wanting, but it follows a pattern of head coach Ryan Day taking a look at the NFL to fill some of these vacant assistant coaching openings. We saw it with Chip Kelly, with Matt Patricia at defensive coordinator last offseason, and now with the hiring of Smith.

But what does it all mean? How will Day blend what Smith knows and loves into what he wants to do at Ohio State? What about how this will all operate and look going forward? There are plenty of ways to dissect this thing, but we give you three things to know about the hiring of Smith as Ohio State's next offensive coordinator.

Arthur Smith's offensive philosophy

If you like a guy who likes to lean on the running attack and can scheme things up on the ground, then you're going to love Smith. His offenses have been run-heavy during his time at Tennessee and Pittsburgh, with a heavy dose of the zone read instead of the traditional down blocking on specific players. That means a playbook that would typically need a more athletic offensive line and backs that have good vision in space.

But Smith doesn't leave the passing game on the shelf. Once he establishes the running attack, there's a heavy usage of play action and RPO action to put the defenses in conflict and take advantage of mismatches in matchups. He'll take shots down the field and take advantage of the personnel he has, but there is a big belief in being able to win the rushing attack.

How will Arthur Smith blend in at Ohio State?

It's important to note what philosophies and principles a guy believes in when making this type of hire, but Smith isn't being brought onto the banks of the Olentangy to just run what he does. Remember, Ryan Day is an offensive-minded guy and usually a great playcaller and schematic professional himself. There are things that Day believes in that will fold into what Smith wants to do.

So, if you are worried that you'll see a complete takeover of an offense that looked pretty vanilla in the Steel City the last couple of years, don't worry. Smith will be the man calling the plays, but it'll be a playbook that has a partnership involved, and Day will still have plenty of input on what happens when the bright lights are on. Jeremiah Smith and those offensive weapons will still be a part of a balanced attack, and there will be plenty of situations used to take advantage of all of that skill.

Don't worry about Arthur Smith's petty pedestrian offenses in Pittsburgh

I've seen many pundits and fans already criticizing this hire because of what we've seen from the Pittsburgh offense the last couple of seasons with Smith calling the shots. There are 32 teams in the NFL, and the Steelers were officially ranked No. 25 in 2024 and No. 24 in 2025 in yards per game under Smith. But if you go back to his time calling plays at Tennessee, his offenses were top ten ones.

Bottom line -- Ohio State got a veteran NFL coach, both as an offensive playcaller and as a head coach. Smith has experienced a lot, seen a lot, and will have answers that not many up-and-coming coaches that many consider the hot names will. There won't be too many situations and schemes coming from the other side of the ball that he hasn't seen, and I think that can't be overstated, just like all that experience Patricial brought to the defensive side of the ball.

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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Ohio State hires Arthur Smith as offensive coordinator: 3 things