Ohio State linked to a pair of elite coordinators to replace Chip Kelly in Columbus

Doomed if he does, doomed if he does not. It seems to be the issue at hand for Ohio State head coach Ryan Day when it comes to replacing his mentor in former Buckeyes offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. After one year in Columbus, the former UCLA head coach is off to the NFL by joining Pete Carroll's Las Vegas Raiders staff as his offensive coordinator. Kelly wanted to go back to the NFL.

While it remains to be seen how good Kelly will be as a play-caller this time around in the NFL, Day is left with trying to do the impossible. He has a great offensive coach on staff in wide receivers coach Brian Hartline, but he is not the play-caller Ohio State needs right now. Hartline could end up staying if he is skipped over, but I would not be shocked if he leaves his alma mater to be a head coach soon.

As far as other candidates are concerned, On3's Pete Nakos has three names of note tied to the Buckeyes coordinator vacancy beyond that of merely Hartline. Those would include Akron Zips head coach Joe Moorhead, Miami Hurricanes offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson and Oregon Ducks offensive coordinator Will Stein. Moorhead could be fine, but Dawson and Stein are the two to watch.

Here is what it would mean for Ohio State should the Buckeyes successfully land either coordinator.

Shannon Dawson, Will Stein tied to Ohio State offensive coordinator gig

While Hartline has the makings of a future head coach, promoting him from within does not seem to be what Buckeye Nation wants to do. After all, the offense will largely regress from Kelly calling the shots if Hartline is the primary play-caller. Honestly, let Ryan Day handle that responsible if Ohio State ultimately goes in that direction. In a way, I feel this would be the worst of the four options to be had.

As far as Moorhead is concerned, while he does have plenty of head-coaching experience, is any of it good at the FBS level? Regardless, he was a strong offensive coordinator at both Oregon and Penn State previously. Those jobs helped him lead Mississippi State and Akron, for better or worse. Ohio State may get laughed at for landing Moorhead, but he too would be overqualified for this position.

When it comes to trying to poach either Dawson or Stein away from Miami or Oregon, Day owes it to himself to at least try. Dawson is a bit more seasoned as a play-caller, having worked for coaches like Hal Mumme, Dana Holgorsen and Mario Cristobal in his career. He has been the secreat sauce at Miami under Cristobal. Losing him would seriously jeopardize Miami's chances of making the playoff.

As far as Stein is concerned, he is probably only a year away from getting to lead his own team. The 30-something played quarterback at Louisville, but has virtually no shot of leading his alma mater because Cardinals legend Jeff Brohm occupies the post. Stein had great success at UTSA previously before replacing Kenny Dillingham on Dan Lanning's Oregon staff. To me, he is the coordinator to hire.

To me, this is all sustaining excellence on the offensive side of the ball, while simultaneously making a conference rival worse. While adding Dawson would hurt Miami considerably, Ohio State poaching Stein may be worse than Ohio State losing Jim Knowles to Penn State. I have concerns about the Ducks' ability to fight through adversity under Lanning, especially when it comes to playing defense.

If it were up to me, I would pay Stein whatever he wants to be the highest coordinator in college football for the next two years. If he ends up taking over a program like Maryland, Virginia, or Virginia Tech in a year, then so be it. This is the type of move to assert your dominance over Oregon. It would certainly ruffle some feathers, but that is the price of playing hardball in the Big Ten. Will they do it?

While Moorhead would be a good pickup, Dawson would be a great one and Stein the best possible.