Ohio State football coach Ryan Day went out of his way to make a huge change on his coaching staff last month.
Now it appears like he’ll have to do it again.

Per various sources, Bill O’Brien is expected to leave Ohio State after less than a month on the job, accepting the head coach position at Boston College instead of being the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Buckeyes this season.

Here’s our @espn story on Bill O’Brien and BC moving near a deal for him to become the next head coach, citing ESPN sources. A deal is anticipated to come together soon, providing BC a coach with substantial NFL experience and strong local ties. https://t.co/hzUhlUN0Um

Day said last week he wanted someone to take over the offense to allow him to focus on the broader job of leading a college football school.

O’Brien was enticing because of his long record both as an offensive coach in the NFL as a head coach, but it remains to be seen how Day replaces him.

Day indicated this week he has contingency plans in place, but losing O’Brien may set off a domino effect that also effects how he fills another post on the coaching staff that was previously open.

ExploreCoaching staff is still in turmoil

The name Chip Kelly has been tossed about regularly.

Although he is currently the head coach at UCLA, several stories say he has made attempts to gain other jobs.

The most prominent of those came from Jon Wilner, a plugged-in veteran reporter on the West Coast who did not corroborate all of the rumors regarding Kelly’s interest in leaving Westwood but did explain why it may make sense:

Well, two things happen: first, Kelly’s buyout decreases to $4 million (about.); second, a new boss enters. (UCLA chancellor Gene) Block is stepping down this summer after 17 years of overseeing the institution. There’s a strong probability the next chancellor will take a more favorable view of football, and there’s a zero chance the next chancellor will take a lower view of football.

That means Kelly’s seat might get a lot hotter in a few months if the Bruins have a terrible time in their debut season in the Big Ten, yet firing him would not cost the institution nearly as much.

Kelly is intimately familiar with Day, who played quarterback for him when Kelly was offensive coordinator at New Hampshire.

Day later was an assistant on Kelly’s NFL staff in Philadelphia and San Francisco until Day arrived at Ohio State in 2017.

Kelly had a successful four-year career as head coach at Oregon from 2009–12. Building upon what predecessor Mike Bellotti started in Eugene, he elevated the Ducks to a higher level with an up-tempo, spread offense that upended the Pac 12 toward the twilight of Pete Carroll’s USC dynasty.

He finished 28-35 in the NFL and returned to college, posting three losing seasons followed by three winning seasons at UCLA.

Whoever becomes Ohio State offensive coordinator, Day emphasized that the offense will not change fundamentally.

He does envisage utilizing quarterback runs more, however, at least enough to keep the defense honest and increase what his running backs are able to do when they have the ball.