Ohio State's Hartline Agrees to USF Head Coach Role

Brian Hartline, the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at Ohio State University, has agreed to become the next head football coach at the University of South Florida, marking his first head coaching position after eight years with the Buckeyes.

The 39-year-old Hartline, an Ohio native and former Buckeyes player from 2005 to 2008, reached the agreement on Wednesday. He will remain with Ohio State through the team's College Football Playoff run, which includes the upcoming Big Ten championship game against Indiana on Saturday and a potential repeat national title appearance. Hartline's move comes after South Florida's previous coach, Alex Golesh, departed last weekend to take the head coaching job at Auburn following a 23-15 record over three seasons, including the program's first nine-win campaign since 2017.

Hartline joined Ohio State's staff in 2017 as an offensive quality control coach under Urban Meyer. He was promoted to wide receivers coach the following year and has held that role since, even as the program transitioned to head coach Ryan Day in 2019. In 2023, Day added the offensive coordinator title to Hartline's responsibilities, and this season marked his...