What Brian Hartline said about taking South Florida head coaching job

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Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline considered South Florida an attractive job as he looked at head coaching opportunities.

“This was a place that caught my eye from afar,” he said during an introduction at the school on Dec. 8.

Hartline, who took the job last week, plans to spend a few days in Tampa, Florida, before returning to Columbus to continue with the Buckeyes as part of their preparations for the College Football Playoff. He will balance both roles during the postseason.

Few of the Group of Five schools were better than USF this year as it finished 9-3 overall during the regular season and was in contention for a playoff spot until a loss at Navy last month. The Bulls, who were then ranked No. 24 by the selection committee, did not make the American Conference championship game as a result.

But the 39-year-old Hartline pointed to his ties to the state as part of USF’s appeal. While he grew up in North Canton and was a wide receiver for Ohio State, he spent six of seven seasons in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins.

“I always felt like Florida was my second home,” Hartline said. “Our family has always felt that way. So when assessing opportunities, USF was always toward the top of the list.”

Hartline was with the Dolphins from 2009-14. He also played for the Cleveland Browns in 2015 before joining Ohio State as a quality control coach in 2017. He has been the Buckeyes’ second-longest serving position coach after defensive line coach Larry Johnson following his promotion to wide receivers coach in 2018.

“If we were ever to go anywhere,” Hartline said, “it would be back to the people in Florida.”

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com and follow along on Bluesky, Instagram and X for more.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State OC Brian Hartline introduced as South Florida head coach

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