After an eventful offseason, the Ohio State Buckeyes’ coaching staff is filled out. On Thursday, coach Ryan Day announced the promotion of graduate assistant James Lauinaitis from graduate assistant to linebackers coach.
That came on the heels of the former UCLA Bruins head coach being named offensive coordinator – replacing Bill O’Brien, who bolted Columbus to be the head coach at Boston College.
Day said he’s happy with the staff as it’s now complete.
“It’s our job every year to identify what areas need to be adjusted, whether it’s with the team or with the staff. And we’ve worked really hard, we’ve spent a lot of time thinking to make sure the right guys are in the right seats. So now it’s time to go to work,” Day said Friday from the Ohio High School Football Coaches’ Association clinic.
Day and Kelly are familiar with one another, as Day played for Kelly at New Hampshire when Kelly was the offensive coordinator there. Day also coached under Kelly with the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers as Kelly’s quarterback coach.
“Chip and I obviously have a long history together, so we see the same things the same way. And it’s been exciting to get him going here,” Day said. “He’s got a lot of excitement walking around the building, meeting the guys, so it’s been a great start. It’s great,” Day said. “All I know is I love having Chip on my side.”
For Laurinaitis, he’s just got one season of being a graduate assistant to his name, and based on what Day saw during that first year, he decided to promote him.
“Well, first off, he knows Ohio State, he loves Ohio State. He has credibility with the players, he has credibility with recruits because he’s done it,” Day said of Laurinaitis. “And not only did he do it, he did it at an unbelievable level, he did it in the NFL.
“But I’ve been impressed with the way he’s transitioned from being a player to a coach. I think when you look at James, when you look at Brian, those guys were guys who maximized themselves on the field. So as they transition from being in the NFL to college, they use a lot of the things they’ve learned, especially in the latter years of their NFL careers, to help guys on the field. And so I’ve seen so many great things from him. Had an opportunity to see him on the road (recruiting) the last couple of weeks. Did an unbelievable job. There’s a lot of momentum, so we felt like it was the right move.”
Day and his new staff kick off the 2024 season on Aug. 31 against the Akron Z
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