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Ohio State Hiring Former NFL Offensive Coordinator and Head Coach Arthur Smith As New Offensive Coordinator
Ohio State is reportedly hiring former Pittsburgh Steelers OC and Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith as its new offensive coordinator.
Ohio State Hiring Former NFL Offensive Coordinator and Head Coach Arthur Smith As New Offensive Coordinator
Ohio State is hiring a former NFL head coach and offensive coordinator as its new OC.
Arthur Smith, who was the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive coordinator for the past two years after three seasons as the Atlanta Falcons’ head coach, will be Ohio State’s new offensive coordinator for the 2026 season, according to multiple reports.
Smith replaces Brian Hartline, who’s now the head coach at South Florida, as Ohio State’s offensive play caller.
He becomes the second former NFL head coach on Ohio State’s staff, joining second-year defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. It’s the second time in three years that Ohio State will have a former NFL head coach leading its offense, as Chip Kelly was OSU’s offensive coordinator in 2024 before he left to become the Las Vegas Raiders’ offensive coordinator.
Smith’s tenure in Pittsburgh was largely met with criticism from Steelers fans, as the Steelers ranked just 25th in total offense in 2025 and 23rd in total offense in 2024. He was far more successful, however, in his previous tenure as the Tennessee Titans’ offensive coordinator; the Titans’ offense ranked in the top 10 in the NFL in both of his seasons at the helm, finishing third in total offense and fourth in scoring offense in 2020.
That led to Smith becoming the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, a role he held from 2021-23. The Falcons went 7-10 in each of his three seasons as head coach.
While Smith has never been a full-time coach at the collegiate level – he was a graduate assistant at his alma mater North Carolina in 2006, and a defensive intern/administrative assistant at Ole Miss in 2010 – Ryan Day coveted a veteran offensive play caller with NFL experience to lead the offense. With Cortez Hankton replacing Hartline as wide receivers coach and Ohio State’s other nine assistant coaches from last season slated to return in 2026, Smith is not expected to be one of Ohio State’s 10 assistants who go out on the road as recruiters.
