Ohio State formally announced Ryan Day's 2026 coaching staff on Tuesday. Each of the new hires has been previously reported, but Tuesday's announcement came with a slew of extensions for returning coaches and came as the Buckeyes began on-field preparations for the upcoming season with spring practice beginning later in the day.
Here are the on-field coaches Ohio State will go to battle with this fall:
Offense
Arthur Smith, offensive coordinator
Keenan Bailey, co-offensive coordinator/tight ends
Tyler Bowen, run game coordinator/offensive line
Billy Fessler, pass game coordinator/quarterback
Cortez Hankton, wide receivers
Carlos Locklyn, running backs
Defense
Matt Patricia, defensive coordinator
Larry Johnson, associate head coach/defensive line
Tim Walton, assistant head coach/co-defensive coordinator/secondary/cornerbacks
Matt Guerrieri, pass game coordinator/safeties
James Laurinaitis, linebackers
Robby Discher, special teams coordinator
Ohio State also announced the hire of former Buckeye linebacker Anthony Schlegel as assistant director of strength and conditioning, a move that was made in January.
Additionally, Patricia has signed a previously-reported contract extension, while Ohio State announced that Johnson, Laurinaitis, Bailey, Fessler, and Locklyn have all signed new contracts. Terms were not disclosed. FootballScoop will effort to add those numbers as soon as possible. Smith, Hankton, and Discher are new hires.
"College football is evolving fast, and today's staffing update is another step in modernizing our program to set the standard in the sport and provide our players with premier support in every aspect of their experience in our program. Extending Coach Matt Patricia and five of our position coaches, and adding leaders like Robby and Anthony, gives us the structure, innovation and accountability we need to keep competing for championships in 2026 and beyond," Day said.
Ohio State has been college football's most consistent winner going back decades, but the Buckeyes have won at higher than their historic rate under Day. A program with a .737 historic winning percentage has found victory at an .872 clip under Day. Ohio State is 82-12 overall in his seven seasons, including a 55-5 mark in Big Ten regular season games, seven AP top-10 finishes in seven seasons, and the 2024 national championship. Still, there is room for improvement that the Buckeyes will chase this fall: Ohio State enters 2026 on a 2-game losing streak after its 16-game winning streak was snapped by eventual national champion Indiana in the Big Ten championship (a game Ohio State, despite its success, last won in 2020) and then was upset by Miami in a CFP quarterfinal game.