Arthur Smith spent the past two seasons as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive coordinator, and that produced mixed results. While he was better than who they’d previously had at that spot, that wasn’t a high bar to clear. Smith could’ve been worse, but many of his flaws were evident. He was one of many Steelers coaches who left the team after Mike Tomlin stepped down. Now, he’s made the move to college football, becoming Ohio State’s offensive coordinator. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day recently explained why he hired Smith.
“As time has gone on and things change in college football, I feel like, more and more, it’s important to have guys in those coordinator position that have a tremendous amount of experience,” Day said on The Jim Rome Show. “When Brian [Hartline] moved on to South Florida, [I] wanted to bring in somebody with great experience.
“First, looked to see guys who have done that at the college level, and then, who has done that at the NFL level. To have somebody with his resumé, who’s actually been a head coach in the NFL, and look what he’s done at Tennessee and then sit down and talk to the people that have worked with him and then had a chance myself to sit down and talk with him, it was excellent. He’s a great communicator, very intelligent, and really loves the game of college football.”
Hartline had been Ohio State’s offensive coordinator or co-offensive coordinator since 2023, but he left his alma mater after the 2025 season to become the University of South Florida’s head coach. That allowed Smith to return to college football, where he hasn’t coached since 2010 when he was a defensive intern/administrative assistant for Ole Miss.
This is really Smith’s first major job at the collegiate level as he’s spent almost all of his coaching career in the NFL. College football has changed drastically since Smith’s last stint there largely due to NIL and the transfer portal.
Still, Smith fits the profile that Day coveted. He’s held multiple different titles throughout his nearly two decades coaching in the NFL. That includes being the Atlanta Falcons’ head coach for three years and stints as the Steelers and Tennessee Titans’ offensive coordinator.
Smith is in the same mold as some of Day’s other coordinator hires at Ohio State. He brought former NFL head coach Chip Kelly in to be the team’s offensive coordinator in 2024. Also, he hired former Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator last year. Much like Smith, they had rough tenures as NFL head coaches, but they both found success as Ohio State coordinators.
Perhaps Smith will follow in their footsteps. Kelly parlayed his solid year working under Day into an NFL return, although that didn’t last long. Smith received some NFL interest before joining Ohio State, interviewing for several head coach and offensive coordinator openings. While he got passed over for those jobs, maybe a successful stint at Ohio State will help him return to the NFL one day.
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