Brian Hartline is a guy a lot of people have been talking about during the Penn State coaching search.
The Ohio State offensive coordinator has been one of college football’s best assistants for years now, making a name for himself coaching the receivers.
But is he too young to take on a job as intense as being the head coach at Penn State?
Since Nick Saban isn’t walking through that door, there isn’t anybody Penn State could hire that doesn’t come with risk. There are plenty of reasons Hartline could work out, and plenty of reasons he might not.
Let’s examine.
WHY PENN STATE SHOULD HIRE BRIAN HARTLINE
Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison warms up.
Hartline isn’t only the best receivers coach in the country, he’s the best position coach, pound for pound.
Marvin Harrison Jr. Garrett Wilson. Chris Olave. Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Emeka Ebuka. Jeremiah Smith. All of these guys have been developed by Hartline, and all but Smith— who is still in college and might end up being the best of them all— have made an impact in the NFL. Hartline’s success coaching the receivers led to him twice being promoted to offensive coordinator, first in 2023 and then over this offseason.
This year, he has Ohio State rolling. The Bucks are averaging 36 points per game and first-year starting QB Julian Sayin is a Heisman candidate.
Young assistants like Dan Lanning (Oregon) and Kenny Dillingham (Arizona State) have killed it at their first head coaching jobs. There’s plenty of reason to believe Hartline would do the same, especially since he’s proven he can recruit and recruit in Pennsylvania (Harrison Jr.)
But…
WHY PENN STATE SHOULDN’T HIRE BRIAN HARTLINE
Speaking of Oregon, a big part of its success in the Lanning era has been the emergence of Will Stein as an offensive coordinator. Because Lanning is a defensive guy, there’s no question that Stein is running the offense. In Columbus, there are such questions because Day, like Hartline, is an offensive guy. How much of the offense is Day’s and how much Hartline’s is hard to say.
Hartline (38) is also young enough to where he can wait for a better opportunity without regretting it, and that opportunity might even be Ohio State since Day could always go to the NFL.
Overall, Hartline is a hire that would excite Penn State fans. Whether he’d want to leave his alma mater just yet is another question.
