On Thursday’s episode of “The Triple Option” podcast, former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer discussed how newly-hired offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and head coach Ryan Day could blend their offensive philosophies.
Meyer noted that Day’s offense still carries many of the same foundations established during his own tenure in Columbus, even as different offensive coordinators, such as Chip Kelly in 2024, have added in their own wrinkles over the years.
“Ryan is pretty well set in his offense,” Meyer said. “It’s the same offensive terminology we used when I was there. Chip Kelly changed it a little bit and I remember asking him.”
Meyer then recalled the process of implementing a new coordinator during his own tenure. The former Buckeye head coach and College Football Hall of Famer added that it was vital for him to see consistency in terminology so he always knew exactly what was being installed and taught.
However, Meyer noted that new coordinators typically look to install their own systems when they arrive, unless an agreement is set in place prior.
“The minute you hire a big-name coordinator, the coordinator is going to run his stuff,” Meyer said.” So you are going to have 100 people in that program now learning new terminology, unless there was an agreement. Whenever I hired a coordinator, I would give them a playbook and tell them, ‘This is what we’re going to run.’ I usually elevated my guys and we ran it because I wanted to know what’s going on.“
Smith previously served as the offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2024-25 and brings a more run-heavy approach compared to the aerial attacks or more balanced offenses Day has managed at Ohio State.
Meyer, who has extensive experience navigating coordinator turnover after working with four different play-callers at Ohio State — Tom Herman (2012–14), Ed Warinner (2015–16), Kevin Wilson (2017) and Day (2018) — said he had to ensure each new coordinator meshed with the existing framework rather than a complete overhaul in the program’s offensive identity.
Meyer added that Smith and Day will need to merge their offensive styles within Ohio State’s established system and that the progress to this point has been promising.
“We talked about that. Is Coach Day going to walk into the meeting room and say ‘What in hell are we doing? I don’t recognize this terminology.’ It’s been pretty good, so far,” Meyer said. “I think there is going to be a mesh of what he’s done before.”
