Ohio State offensive coordinator Arthur Smith dishes on choosing OSU

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At a place like Ohio State, keeping a coaching staff together is a ‘Lord of the Rings’ journey. Successful programs like the one on the banks of the Olentangy breed job offers for assistants, and that’s definitely been the case during the Ryan Day era.

To that end, OSU lost wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator Brian Hartline when USF hired him as its new head coach. After a secret and seemingly thorough search, Day filled the vacancy by hiring former Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive coordinator and former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith.

We heard from Smith for the first time on Tuesday, one day before Ohio State football’s Pro Day, and some of what he said was enlightening when it came to the reasons he left the NFL to coach in college at Ohio State.

Smith first credited the respect he had for Day as one of the main reasons he decided to back the U-Haul up to Columbus.

“First, most importantly, was the respect I have for Coach Day, and he reached out, we had a good conversation, and came down here and spent some time with him,” said Smith. “And just kind of weighed my options, and I’d had such a good experience with some of the players that have come through here that I’ve gotten the privilege to coach, so I was intrigued. Kind of weighed my options, and talked to a lot of people, including Mike Vrabel, who’s a great Buckeye, he’s a great friend of mine, and it just made sense.”

Smith didn’t have firsthand knowledge of Day before he reached out, but admired him and the program from afar.

“I didn’t know him (Day) really well personally. We had crossed paths; I had talked to him the last couple of years coming through here on (Ohio State) Pro Day, and obviously knew a lot of people that had played for him or worked with him, and had a lot of mutual admiration from afar,” Smith said. “I knew it from afar because I love the history of this game, and I understand how important this place is, especially in the history of football.”

Smith also tapped into current Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, someone who also came from the NFL to college and was a former NFL head coach. Those conversations were enough to really make Smith look at the opportunity to coach in Columbus.

“That was another big reason I’m here, talking to (Patricia) after Coach Day reached out,” Smith said. “I think what happens sometimes, like in any industry, at least you understand what all happens in that office and comes across (Day’s) desk, and you’re a little more empathetic, and you try to do your job really well so you can take that stress off so he doesn’t have to worry about the unit responsibility he gives you. And that’s a big part of our job … you understand there’s a lot that goes on in that job besides just coaching on the field, and so if you do your job really well, it just takes something off his plate.”

Though Smith is making the move from the highest level of football, he knows the expectations that come with coaching at one of the bluest of bloods in the sport and isn’t shying away from it.

You don’t go to Ohio State if you don’t welcome those expectations, and it’s the same thing in the NFL,” Smith said. “The expectation is to win every Sunday, and you love that challenge as a competitor, and it’s kind of what gets you going as a coach.”

It remains to be seen if Smith can have the same impact that Patricia had on the defense, but it sure fits the model that has worked before with the hiring of Chip Kelly and Patricia. It seems like coaching at the game’s highest level works when you go back to college. Who would’ve thought?

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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: New Ohio State offensive coordinator Arthur Smith on why he chose OSU

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