Ohio State to promote James Laurinaitis to on-field linebackers coach

Ohio State has filled out its coaching staff. The Buckeyes are hiring James Laurinaitis as a full-time assistant coach, according to Lettermen Row.

Laurinaitis was previously working as a grad assistant with the linebackers.

With the addition of Laurinaitis the Ohio State coaching staff is now filled after several staff changes were made by Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day this offseason.

James Laurinaitis played at Ohio State prior to getting into coaching and was a star for the Buckeyes. He was drafted in the second round of the 2009 NFL draft, No. 35 overall.

Laurinaitis spent eight years in the NFL before getting into coaching. The 37-year-old spent the 2022 season as a grad assistant at Notre Dame, before returning to Ohio State and holding the same role in 2023.

Now he has received a promotion and is moving into a full-time on-field role.

Laurinaitis was a three-time All-American and two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year during his time at Ohio State. He appeared in 51 games, with 39 starts in his career.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes are coming off of an 11-2 season that resulted in staff changes.

Ohio State got off to an 11-0 start, before dropping its final two games of the year, including its rivalry matchup with Michigan.

Joel Klatt: ‘There is not a person in this business that Ryan Day trusts more than Chip Kelly’

Elsewhere with the Ohio State coaching staff, Ryan Day brought in former UCLA head coach Chip Kelly to serve as the offensive coordinator for the Buckeyes.

The move instantly changes the outlook for the program offensively, but perhaps more importantly it gives Day someone he can trust.

“When you’re at square one, when your back is against the wall, you tend to lean on things that you know and that you can trust,” FOX analyst Joel Klatt said. “There is not a person in this business that Ryan Day trusts more than Chip Kelly.”

Kelly clearly wanted out at UCLA, and he took multiple avenues to try to ensure he could make a clean departure for another job. Ohio State fit the bill perfectly.

“He tried to get into the NFL,” Klatt said. “He interviewed with the Seattle Seahawks, didn’t get that, Ryan Grubb gets that job. Now he can go work for his basically, I would call them best friends in the profession, maybe overall. Obviously they have history. Chip coached Ryan Day at New Hampshire.

“This relationship goes back a long ways. It makes all the sense in the world. There’s nobody that Ryan trusts more in this sport than Chip Kelly and now this new play-calling system at Ohio State is going to have Chip Kelly at the helm.”