Arthur Smith Joins Ohio State as Offensive Coordinator
1/31/2026 4:37:00 PM | Football
Brings 17 years of NFL experience to the Buckeyes
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Arthur Smith, a veteran NFL offensive coordinator and former head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, has been hired by Ryan Day as the Buckeyes' offensive coordinator.
Smith spent the last two seasons as the offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers. His other notable NFL stops include a three-year stint as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons and two years as the offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans. Smith is a 17-year NFL veteran who held positions with the Tennessee Titans (2011-2020), Falcons (2021-23) Steelers (2024-25) and Washington Commanders (2007-08).
"We are happy to welcome Arthur, his wife Allison and their family to Ohio State," said Day. "He will bring immediate value to our program and was exactly what we were looking for as we set out to find our next offensive coordinator. His track record in the NFL, experience as coordinator, player caller and a head coach checked every box during the search. He'll do a great job in helping our players reach their potential on the field while also connecting with them as people."
Smith is the only offensive coordinator/head coach in modern NFL history to have seven different running backs finish with 1,000 or more yards from scrimmage in a seven-year span. They are: Derek Henry (2019 and 2020), Cordarrelle Patterson (2021), Tyler Allgier (2020), Bijan Robinson (2023), Najee Harris (2024), Jaylen Warren (2025) and Kenneth Gainwell (2025).
Quarterbacks coached by Smith – which includes Ryan Tannehill, Matt Ryan, Marcus Mariotta, Desmond Ritter, Justin Fields, Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers – won nearly 20 percent more of their respective starts while coached by Smith than before his respective tenure. Since 2019, Smith-coached quarterbacks have won nearly 60 percent of their starts.
Under Smith's guidance, the Steelers offense immediately showed signs of improvement when he took over in 2024. Pittsburgh upped its numbers in total offense, rushing offense and scoring offense. In 2025, Smith's offense helped the Steelers win four of their final five games to win the AFC North title and earn a playoff berth. Pittsburgh averaged its most points per game since 2020. QB Aaron Rodgers finished with his best completion percentage (65.7) and fewest interceptions (seven) in five years.
In Smith's first season with the Steelers, Pittsburgh ranked 11th in the NFL in rush offense (127.4 yards/game) and logged the fourth-most rushing attempts in the league. Pittsburgh's 317.2 yards per game was up from 304.3 in 2023. The Steelers also averaged 22.4 points per game last season, up from 17.9 in 2023.
As the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, Smith's team led the NFL in fewest penalties (2022), finished in the top 10 in rushing yards per game twice (2022 and 2023), 10th in third-down conversion rate (2022) and 13th in passing yards per attempt (2023). In his first year at the helm, TE Kyle Pitts became the second rookie tight end to surpass 1,000 receiving yards in NFL history. He also became the first rookie tight end selected to the Pro Bowl since 2002.
A year later, Drake London finished his rookie season with 72 receptions, the most by a rookie in franchise history, as the Falcons became just the fourth team in NFL history to have a 1,000-yard rookie rusher (Tyler Allgeier) and an 800-yard rookie receiver (London) in the same season.
In 2023, Bijan Robinson finished second among rookies with 1,463 yards from scrimmage, which was a Falcons franchise record. Robinson also set the franchise record for most receptions by a rookie running back (58) and became the fifth rookie running back in NFL history to record at least 1,400 yards from scrimmage, 55 receptions and four receiving TDs.
Smith orchestrated one of the NFL's top offenses with the Tennessee Titans in 2019 and 2020. In 2020, the Titans ranked in the top five in the league in plays of 50 or more yards (10, 1st), pass plays of 50-plus yards (eight, 1st), total offense (396.4 yards/game, second), rushing offense (168.1 yards/game, second), yards per rush (5.2, second), red-zone efficiency (75.0 percent, second), runs of 20+ yards (20, third), yards per play (6.2, fourth), runs of 10-plus yards (70, fourth) and third-down conversion rate (46.2 percent, fifth).
Smith oversaw one of the most potent rushing attacks as Derrick Henry became just the eighth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season. Henry's 2,027 rushing yards ranks fifth all-time and paced the Titans to the NFL's second-best rushing offense in 2020.
His work with quarterback Ryan Tannehill was equally impressive. In two seasons running Smith's offense, Tannehill started 26 games and had 6,561 passing yards with 55 TDs, 13 interceptions and a 110.6 passer rating, while completing 67.3 percent of his passes. He was named to the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career in 2019 after leading the NFL with a 117.5 passer rating.
Smith also fostered the development of A.J. Brown, who eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first two NFL seasons and scored 19 touchdowns in 30 games.
In 2019, Tennessee led the NFL in red-zone efficiency (75.6 percent), ranked third in rushing offense (138.9 yards per game) and fourth in yards per play (6.12). Tannehill and Henry became the fourth set of NFL teammates to lead the League in passer rating and rushing yards, respectively, since 1973.
Smith served under four different Titans head coaches, working his way up from his 2011 position of defensive assistant/quality control coach. He also spent time as an offensive assistant/quality control coach (2012), offensive line/tight ends assistant (2013), and assistant tight ends coach (2014-15) before taking over as tight ends coach during the 2015 season and holding the position through 2018.
Prior to joining the Titans, Smith spent two years as the defensive quality control coach for the Washington Commanders under Joe Gibbs (2007-08). In addition to his coaching role, he also worked as a college scouting assistant in Washington in 2007. In 2010, Smith worked at Ole Miss as an administrative assistant/defensive intern, working primarily with the linebackers.
A native of Memphis, Tenn., Smith graduated from the University of North Carolina where he played offensive line and later joined the Tar Heels coaching staff as a graduate assistant (2006), working with the offensive line.
Smith and his wife, Allison, have two sons, Tanner and Liam, and one daughter, Sophie.
