The Ohio State Buckeyes were eliminated from the College Football Playoff in surprising fashion when they lost to the Miami Hurricanes on Wednesday night in the Cotton Bowl.
For Ryan Day and company, it was a brutal way to see their bid for a second consecutive national championship ended. After an impressive all-around season, the team simply did not show up when it needed to the most.
Heading into the offseason, there are still many reasons to be excited about the future for Ohio State. Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith are both expected to be back and there are plenty of players on both sides of the football returning as well. Day also has an elite recruiting class set to land in Columbus for the 2026 season.
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With that being said, another major decision must be made. Day will have to figure out who to hire to replace former offensive coordinator Brian Hartline.
Hartline took the head coaching job at South Florida prior to the start of the College Football Playoff. That led to some outside noise surrounding the Buckeyes. Now, a new offensive coordinator will need to be brought in.
Plenty of names have surfaced as potential options for Day. However, there is a name that one Ohio State analyst badly wants to see Day bring onboard.
Josh Poloha of Eleven Warriors made it clear that he wants to see former New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll installed as the Buckeyes’ new offensive coordinator.
“My dream for OC is Brian Daboll,” Poloha said. “Ryan Day wants to be the CEO of OSU football not the OC like Wednesday night. I don’t think he wants an up and coming flashy hire. He wants an experienced guy.”
Daboll was fired by the Giants during the middle of the 2025 NFL season. While he was fired, he is still respected as an excellent coach. Bringing him in at Ohio State would give the Buckeyes an elite offensive mind.
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Last offseason, Day brought in a former NFL head coach to be the team’s defensive coordinator. Matt Patricia did an excellent job in his first season with Ohio State. Exploring the professional coaching ranks for this position would make sense.
There are plenty of other candidates who could end up getting the job, but Daboll would be an excellent choice. It will be interesting to see who Day decides on when the search comes to an end.
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