Ryan Day’s Honest Opinion of Chip Kelly’s Ohio State Departure
On Sunday, Adam Schefter and Pete Thamel of ESPN reported that Ohio State’s offensive coordinator Chip Kelly would be leaving to take the same position with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Of course, that’s disappointing news as the Buckeyes are coming off a national championship win and had already lost their defensive coordinator, Jim Knowles, to Penn State. While on “The Joel Klatt Show,” head coach Ryan Day shared a very truthful response to Kell’y’s exit.
“We talked about it, the fact that, you know, we had a really good group here, and you know, the dream would be to win a national championship, and then, you know, he decides whether he wants to stay, or have an opportunity to go, go to the NFL, and it’s exactly what happened,” he said.
“And you know, just to be able to, you know, have a beer, in a few years, you know, and talk about the year that we had together is going to be special, because we all started together.” Ryan Day reacts to the news of longtime coach and mentor Chip Kelly leaving @OhioStateFB after winning a National Championship together.
It really was a full team effort involving players and coaches for the Buckeyes to end up where they did, and under Kelly, the offense performed well.
They wound up finishing the season tied for 12th in points per game (35.7) and tied for 28th in total yards per game (429.4).
Day’s focus will now likely turn to finding a replacement for Day, and considering they do not open up the 2025 season until Aug. 30 against the Texas Longhorns; there’s plenty of time to make the right choice.
Ohio State star reacts to the big Chip Kelly news
Ohio State star Jeremiah Smith is heartbroken over the Chip Kelly news.
Kelly was 1-and-done at Ohio State and going out on top after helping the Buckeyes win the national championship this season. He is leaving to take the Las Vegas Raiders’ offensive coordinator position.
Kelly helped Ohio State average 35.7 points per game, which ranked 14th of 134 last season. Smith had 76 catches for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns. Those were monster numbers for a freshman player, so it’s no surprise he’s disappointed to see Kelly leave.
Smith reacted on X to the news by writing “nooooo” and adding a broken heart emoji.
Kelly did a masterful job trying to get the ball in the hands of one of his best players. He designed plays to give Smith excellent matchups or touches, which helps explain the star receiver’s reaction.
This will be Kelly’s return to the NFL and third NFL job he’s held overall. He has spent most of his career in college but coached the Eagles from 2013-2015 and the 49ers in 2016.
Whoever replaces Kelly at Ohio State will have a great player to work with in Smith. Smith stood out among a crowd of talented players.
