{"id":702837,"date":"2026-01-25T01:43:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T01:43:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/702837\/"},"modified":"2026-01-25T01:43:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T01:43:16","slug":"detroit-lions-oc-candidate-lands-at-ohio-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/702837\/","title":{"rendered":"Detroit Lions OC Candidate Lands at Ohio State"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the more intriguing names connected to the Detroit Lions\u2019 <\/a>offensive coordinator search has officially come off the board.<\/p>\n

According to CBS Sports and college football insider Matt Zenitz<\/a>, Ohio State is expected to hire former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith<\/a> as its new offensive coordinator. The move would bring Smith back into a high-profile play-calling role after spending the past two seasons as the Pittsburgh Steelers\u2019 offensive coordinator.<\/p>\n

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\u201cOhio State is expected to hire Arthur Smith as its new offensive coordinator, sources tell @CBSSports,\u201d Zenitz reported. \u201cSmith, who was the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 2021-23, was the Pittsburgh Steelers\u2019 OC the last two seasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Detroit<\/p>\n

Detroit Lions Ohio State Arthur Smith<\/p>\n

A Name That Popped Up in Detroit\u2019s Search<\/p>\n

Before the Lions ultimately hired Drew Petzing, Smith\u2019s name had quietly surfaced among league circles as a potential candidate. Detroit cast a wide net in its OC search, interviewing multiple experienced play-callers with NFL and college backgrounds, and Smith\u2019s resume made him a logical possibility.<\/p>\n

Smith is best known for his work as the Tennessee Titans\u2019 offensive coordinator from 2019-20, when he helped engineer a dominant, play-action-heavy attack built around Derrick Henry and Ryan Tannehill. That success led to his hiring as head coach of the Falcons, where he went 21-30 over three seasons while overseeing a young, rebuilding roster.<\/p>\n

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After being let go by Atlanta, Smith resurfaced in Pittsburgh, where he worked with a rotating quarterback room and a run-heavy offense. While the Steelers\u2019 unit was inconsistent, Smith\u2019s reputation as a scheme designer and run-game architect remained intact around the league.<\/p>\n

Why Ohio State Makes Sense<\/p>\n

For Ohio State, landing Smith represents a major splash. The Buckeyes are expected to lean into a more pro-style, physical offensive approach, and Smith\u2019s background fits that mold perfectly. His experience developing tight ends, designing play-action concepts, and building efficient rushing attacks could be a major asset in Columbus.<\/p>\n

It also gives Smith a chance to reset his career in a pressure-packed but talent-rich environment, calling plays for one of the most loaded rosters in college football.<\/p>\n

The post Detroit Lions OC Candidate Lands at Ohio State<\/a> appeared first on Detroit Sports Nation<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of the more intriguing names connected to the Detroit Lions\u2019 offensive coordinator search has officially come off…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":702838,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2071],"tags":[4829,254,292,146,113,2506,7,147,6,12611,1446,57,762,394],"class_list":["post-702837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-detroit-lions","tag-arthur-smith","tag-atlanta-falcons","tag-derrick-henry","tag-detroit","tag-detroit-lions","tag-detroitlions","tag-football","tag-lions","tag-nfl","tag-offensive-coordinator","tag-ohio-state","tag-pittsburgh-steelers","tag-ryan-tannehill","tag-tennessee-titans"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115953206925167709","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=702837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702837\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/702838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=702837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=702837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=702837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}