Arthur Smith Reveals Why He Chose Ohio State as Offensive Coordinator Under Ryan Day

Arthur Smith did not walk into Ohio State trying to reinvent himself. He walked in knowing exactly what this place demands.

“You don’t go to Ohio State if you don’t welcome those expectations,” Smith said.

That line tells you just about everything you need to know. For Smith, the move to Columbus was not about chasing something new. It was about stepping into something that already matched how he sees the game, how he coaches it, and how he competes.

“First and most importantly was the respect I have for Coach Day,” Smith said. “He reached out, we had a good conversation, and I came down here and spent some time with him.”

Smith did what coaches do. He called people. He asked questions. He leaned on relationships built over years in the league and in the game.

“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,” he said. “So, I was intrigued, kind of weighed my options and talked to a lot of people, including Mike Vrabel, who’s a great Buckeye and a great friend of mine. It just made sense.”

And the timing was quick. Coaching cycles always are. One minute you are evaluating your next step and the next you are packing up and diving into film.

“Coach Day was awesome...getting a couple days to weigh everything, talk to people, and I’m really just excited to get an opportunity.”

Once he got here, the work started the way it always does for him. Tape. Conversations. More tape. “You’re looking for the personality of the players that are coming back,” Smith said. “Getting a feel for what they know, what they’ve been taught, and where their skill sets are.”

There is no rush to overhaul everything. That is not how Smith operates.

“There’s an evolution. You don’t want to get stale,” he said. “You’re evaluating everything, things you want to implement, things you want to keep, and try to enhance what they’ve done really well.”

That approach carries over from the NFL, even as he adjusts back to the college game. “The rules are a little bit different, the spacing too, the hashes are wider,” Smith said. “So it’s a lot of film evaluation, talking with the staff, and you adapt to certain things.”

At the core of it, though, nothing really changes. Smith still sees himself the same way he always has.

“I always look at myself as a coach. You’re a teacher too. A teacher really first,” he said.

The expectations are high. The spotlight is constant. For some, that can feel like pressure.

“It’s the same thing in the NFL, the expectation to win every Sunday,” he said. “You love that challenge as a competitor, and that’s what gets you going as a coach.”

Which is why, when everything was said and done, there was not much debate left. Just a decision that, in his words, was pretty simple.

“It just made sense.”