It should have been challenging to replace Bill O’Brien as offensive coordinator with a comparable background, but Ryan Day made it seem simple.

The Buckeyes signed an agreement with UCLA coach Chip Kelly to become their offensive coordinator, bringing in an accomplished offensive play caller with a track record of managing top offenses, only hours after O’Brien was named the new head coach at Boston College.

Kelly has experience calling offensive plays in both college and the NFL football leagues, much like O’Brien. In addition to orchestrating offensive plays at both schools, he served as head coach of Oregon and UCLA, two of the newest teams in the Big Ten. Kelly was the head coach of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers in between those two positions.

Just as Day did for the previous five years at Ohio State, Kelly oversaw offensive play-calling in each of his head coaching positions. However, Kelly will now relieve Day of those duties so that Day can concentrate on developing offensive game plans rather than the other responsibilities that come with being a head coach.

Considering that Day and Kelly have already collaborated on numerous projects and that Day took inspiration for his offensive play calling from Kelly, Day and Ohio State shouldn’t have any significant change when Kelly takes over as offensive play caller. Furthermore, there’s reason to think that he can be the coach the Buckeyes need to restore their offensive back to where it belongs, given the track record of the offenses he’s coached. Kelly has managed nine offenses in the FBS or NFL that have finished in the top 10 in terms of scoring and/or total offense over the last 17 years.

Kelly’s past indicates that he might be especially helpful to the Buckeyes in enhancing their rushing assault. Ohio State is hoping to improve significantly in this area after finishing the previous season ranked 79th in rushing yards per attempt (4.2). Of the ten total offenses at those levels that have finished in the top 10 in that category, Kelly has overseen five that have led the FBS or NFL in rushing yards per attempt.