Reports: Brian Hartline Earns Playcalling Duties, Billy Fessler Promoted To QBs Coach

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day’s offensive staff may now be complete. It was reported earlier in the day that Virginia Tech offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen was being targeted to replace offensive line coach Justin Frye. It is looking like that will be the only outside hire for Day on the offensive side of the ball as expectations are that receivers coach/co-offensive coordinator Brian Hartline is replacing the departed Chip Kelly as OC and play caller, and assistant quarterbacks coach Billy Fessler will replace Kelly as OSU’s quarterbacks coach.

The Hartline news was first reported by Pete Nakos of On3, while the Fessler news was first reported by Matt Zenitz of CBS.

Hartline was previously named Ohio State’s offensive coordinator in 2023 with the potential to add play-calling duties. Ryan Day, who was the Buckeyes’ play-caller until this past season, wasn’t ready to hand those duties over just yet, however.

This past season, Day hired former New England and Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien to coach quarterbacks and call plays. O’Brien left shortly after arriving in order to become the head coach at Boston College. Day then turned to UCLA head coach Chip Kelly, who signed up for one year as a Buckeye and is now off to be the offensive coordinator of the Las Vegas Raiders.

Hartline has been a full-time position coach at Ohio State since 2018, and has been involved in coordinating the weekly gameplan, but has not yet been a full-time play caller. He will, however, have one of college football’s best in Day there to help him out along the way.

Fessler was hired by Kelly in 2024 to be the Bruins quarterbacks coach, but he then came to Ohio State with Kelly instead. He was Akron’s quarterbacks coach the previous two seasons and offensive coordinator in 2023. Fessler was a graduate assistant at Ohio State in 2020 and 2021.

Ohio State has not yet confirmed any of these reports.

Buckeye Huddle will have much more on this news in the coming days.

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