Ohio State is interested in Miami Hurricanes offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson to succeed Chip Kelly according to Pete Nakos of On3. Kelly was hired by Pete Carroll and the Las Vegas Raiders according to reports that first came out on Sunday.
The other candidates Ohio State is reportedly interested in are Buckeyes' wide receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator Brian Hartline, Akron head coach Joe Moorhead and Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein. Hartline was the Ohio State offensive coordinator in 2023 and co-OC with Kelly in 2024.
Although he has two years of experience as an offensive coordinator, Hartline has never called plays. Dawson first became an offensive coordinator at Division III Millsaps in 2006 and has held the position in all but three seasons since then. Miami had the top offense nationally in scoring and yards in 2024 with Dawson calling plays.
Moorhead first became an offensive coordinator at the Football Championship Subdivision program Georgetown in 2003. Connecticut hired Moorehead in 2009 for his first offensive coordinator position at the Football Bowl Subdivision level.
The following candidates to be Ohio State’s next offensive coordinator according to Pete Nakos:
— The Scarlet and Gray Podcast (@TheSG_Podcast) February 3, 2025
- Brian Hartline
- Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson
- Akron head coach Joe Moorhead
- Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein pic.twitter.com/ntmQYP2Jt9
Shannon Dawson is reportedly a candidate for the Ohio State OC opening
Moorhead was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2016–2017 at Penn State, the head coach at Mississippi State in 2018 and 2019 and the offensive coordinator and QB coach at Oregon under Mario Cristobal in 2020 and 2021. Akron hired Moorhead as head coach shortly before Cristobal was hired by Miami.
Stein earned his first job as offensive coordinator in 2022 at Texas-San Antonio, sharing the position with Matt Mattox. Dan Lanning, who succeeded Cristobal at Oregon, hired Stein as his offensive coordinator in 2023. Oregon was second nationally averaging 44.2 PPG in 2023 and 17th at 34.9 in 2024.
If Ohio State does hire Dawson, expect at least Hartline and Moorhead to be potential candidates to replace him with Miami. Cristobal operates in stealth when hiring coaches. That is not likely to be any different if Dawson leaves Miami for Ohio State.