Ohio State has learned one of the harsh realities of winning a national championship, but Ryan Day is happy for the latest assistant of his to get a new opportunity.
Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly is heading back to the NFL, agreeing to a deal to become the Las Vegas Raiders’ offensive coordinator. As part of the deal, Kelly will become the NFL’s highest-paid coordinator, earning $6 million per year, Sports Illustrated reported.
The news of Kelly’s decision to join Pete Carroll’s staff actually broke during Day’s interview on Monday’s episode of the “Joel Klatt Show.” Even though Kelly marks another departure from his staff, Day expressed an appreciation for his mentor.
“It was great,” Day said on the opportunity to win a national championship with Kelly. “We talked about it, the fact that we had a really good group here. The dream would be to win a national championship and then he decides whether he wants to stay or have an opportunity to go to the NFL. And it’s exactly what happened.”
Kelly joined Day’s staff in the 2024 offseason, agreeing to step down as UCLA’s head coach to become Ohio State’s offensive coordinator in a rare move. Day, who called Ohio State’s offensive plays for five seasons after becoming its head coach, opted to relinquish his playcalling duties in 2024, hiring Bill O’Brien to become the offensive coordinator earlier in the offseason. O’Brien only lasted a couple of weeks in that role before becoming Boston College’s head coach.
Ryan Day speaks on Chip Kelly’s departure to the NFL
Of course, that move paid off. Ohio State’s offense was one of the best in the country, ranking 14th in scoring and fourth in yards per play under Kelly’s guidance.
More importantly, Kelly seemingly knew what buttons to push in the College Football Playoff. Ohio State got out to commanding leads in three of its four wins, including its takedown of No. 1 Oregon in the quarterfinal and in its title victory over Notre Dame. Thanks to Kelly’s game plans, Ohio State averaged roughly 36 points and 447 yards of offense in its four CFP wins as Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka, TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins all made key contributions.
The performance of Ohio State’s offense in the CFP was arguably the biggest reason for its title victory, giving Day and Kelly the one thing that had eluded them in their accomplished college coaching careers: a national championship. While it didn’t come to fruition until January, the two have shared that dream for decades as Day was a quarterback for Kelly’s offense at New Hampshire from 1998-01.
Now, Day is taking great pride that he and his fellow New Hampshire native can call themselves national champions.
“Just to be able to have a beer in a few years and talk about the year that we had together is going to be special because we all started together, and this is where I started with him,” Day said. “We went and did that. And what a great story. I know so many people back home in New Hampshire are just excited for him and for the story. It’s pretty special.”
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