The Ohio State Buckeyes have lost both of their coordinators from their National Championship campaign.
Jim Knowles departed Ohio State for Big Ten rival Penn State to be the Nittany Lions’ new defensive coordinator. Then, this past weekend, offensive coordinator Chip Kelly made a surprising move back to the National Football League.
New Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll hired Kelly, his former Pac-10 rival at Oregon when Carroll coached Southern Cal, to be their offensive coordinator. The move, which pays Kelly a hefty sum, means he’s once again out of college football.
Ohio State sensation Jeremiah Smith benefited greatly from Kelly and his offense. Smith came across the news that Kelly departed, and reacted how you might expect.
“Nooooo,” Smith posted on X, with a broken heart emoji.
Smith had incredible success as a freshman at Ohio State. The Buckeyes have had some great wide receivers over the years, but Smith jumped off the map this year. The sensational wide receiver was a force for opposing defenses to try and cover. Sometimes, they simply couldn’t at all.
Whether Kelly is there or not, though, expect Smith to continue to play well for Ohio State.
Kelly first entered the NFL after his successful run at the University of Oregon. He had a dismal run with the Philadelphia Eagles that ended in turmoil. Kelly then returned back to college football at UCLA, where he didn’t enjoy similar success that he had previously. Kelly joined the Buckeyes’ coaching staff prior to the 2024 season. His work helped lead Ohio State to its first National Championship in ten years.
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022