When it was announced that Jim Knowles was leaving the Ohio State Buckeyes to take over the defense at Penn State, plenty of fans in Columbus lost it. Then, even more concern arrived when reports dropped that Chip Kelly could be on his way out of town too for a job in the NFL.
Is it time to start saying goodbye to the veteran coach? Not so fast. This week, Kelly was spotted paying an in-home visit to meet with 5-star quarterback Jared Curtis, ranked the No. 2 signal-caller in the country per the 247Sports Composite. Do we really think Kelly would still be going after top Ohio State targets if he was planning on bolting soon?
Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and assistant quarterbacks coach Billy Fessler visited five-star quarterback Jared Curtis.https://t.co/r4QJowkkBb https://t.co/xBjaMpsPgO
— Mick Walker (@mickdwalker) January 29, 2025
Ohio State OC Chip Kelly met with 5-star QB Jared Curtis
Earlier in the week, news dropped that Kelly was being looked at as a top target for NFL squads who have an offensive coordinator opening. As soon as that report dropped, people couldn't believe it and they fully expected Kelly to make his return to the pros.
However, head man Ryan Day, who just helped the Buckeyes win the National Championship Game, appears to be working overtime to prevent another key coach from leaving his staff. Kelly has been brilliant from the moment he joined the Buckeyes.
Throughout the season, especially during the College Football Playoff, opposing teams had no answers for trying to slow down his offense. In the playoff, Will Howard was brilliant, but Kelly drew up fantastic plays to have him connect with Jeremiah Smith, the best freshman in the country.
Thanks to Kelly's work, Ohio State is on top of the world right now. At the same time, the OSU faithful as a whole has been worried that maybe he's got one foot out the door. Thanks to this latest visit with Curtis, however, plenty of nerves have been calmed.