"Last season, he closely tracked Ohio State coach Ryan Day, who has toggled between calling plays and relinquishing those duties, as he did in 2024 when veteran strategist Chip Kelly directed the Buckeyes' offense. Dillingham had watched Day handle both head coach and offensive playcaller responsibilities earlier in his Ohio State tenure. Last year, he observed a different version of Day."
""I saw such a peace in Coach Day on game day, just from a fan watching games, how calm he was ... how excited he would get for touchdowns and all of that when he didn't call it," Dillingham told ESPN. "I'm like, 'I think he figured it out.' He can be involved, have a say, but he's over here talking to defense and offense. I'm like, 'I love that.'""
Kenny Dillingham, a 35-year-old head coach at Arizona State with an offensive playcalling background, studies how other coaches manage game-day responsibilities. He observed Ohio State coach Ryan Day switch between calling plays and relinquishing duties, including when Chip Kelly directed the Buckeyes' offense in 2024, and noticed Day appeared calmer and more engaged when not calling plays. Dillingham adopted a similar approach at Arizona State. A majority of first-time FBS head coaches enter jobs after serving as primary playcallers, and playcalling ability often drives hiring decisions. Expanding head-coach duties force a choice to retain playcalling or delegate.
Read at ESPN.com
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