The *35 people who could be Ohio State's next play caller

Who will call plays for the Buckeyes in 2026? Let's look at some (serious and not so serious) candidates.

Who will call plays for Ryan Day and Ohio State in 2026? (Photo courtesy of Ohio State athletics)

COLUMBUS — Ohio State needs a new offensive play-caller with Brian Hartline’s one-year stint in the books. The former Buckeye assistant is now running the program at South Florida.

Will Ohio State head coach Ryan Day go outside, as he did in 2024 with Bill O’Brien initially and then Chip Kelly? Or will he go in-house, as he did with Hartline this year? Both are possible.

Ohio State has already replaced Hartline as receivers coach with the addition of Cortez Hankton, but that doesn’t preclude the Buckeyes from making an additional outside hire to call plays if that’s what Day wants to do.

Let’s explore some options. I came up with 33 of them — some serious, some not — before I ran out of gas. (Update: I added two more.)