Sources: Ohio State hires former NFL coach Joe Philbin as analyst

Ohio State has added a bold name and an experienced coach to its staff as sources tell ESPN the Buckeyes have hired former NFL head coach Joe Philbin as an offensive analyst.

Philbin is a former head coach of the Miami Dolphins and interim coach of the Green Bay Packers and won the Super Bowl as the Packers’ offensive coordinator in the 2010 NFL season.

At Ohio State, Philbin will work with the offensive staff and under coordinator Brian Hartline, one of his former players with the Dolphins. Philbin, whose experience is on the offensive line, will help veteran offensive line coach Justin Frye. A need arose within the Buckeyes staff for additional offensive line expertise when tight ends coach Kevin Wilson left for Tulsa, as Wilson had offensive line experience from the start of his career.

The location shows an ongoing effort by Ohio State under head coach Ryan Day to add football brains to the building, a stated effort that began after the loss to Alabama in the game for the national title after the 2020 season.

Philbin will be joined on the off-court offensive staff by veteran coordinator Todd Fitch, who brings his expertise in the throwing game. Former Buckeye star James Laurinaitis joined the program in January as a graduate assistant working with defence. Earlier in the offseason, Ohio State also added former Nebraska assistant Mike Dawson to the defensive staff as an analyst.

Philbin’s NFL experience dates back to 2003 when he started with the Packers. He went 24-28 in four seasons as head coach of the Dolphins from 2012 to 2015. Hartline played for the Dolphins from 2009 to 2014. Philbin is 26-30 overall as coach of the NFL, counting his four interim games in Green Bay in 2018.

Philbin’s last NFL job came with the Cowboys, and he was fired after the 2022 season after three years in Dallas. Philbin’s last college job came as an offensive line coach at Iowa from 1999 to 2002, and he had served at six other colleges as an offensive line coach before that, including Harvard, Northeastern and Ohio.