<body><div>The college football coaching circle is a small world. It's hard to find a coach at one program that doesn't have a connection to a coach at another.While the coaches come from all over the country, Manchester, New Hampshire, has had a strange impact on college football. Who would have thought that a town of roughly 115,000 people would lead to two coaches helping to guide No. 2 <a href="https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/">Ohio State</a> this season?<a href="https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/article/ohio-state-football-ryan-day-chip-kelly-work-because-of-how-far-back-their-relationship-goes-232013897/">The relationship between</a> Buckeye head coach <a href="https://247sports.com/Coach/ryan-day-509/">Ryan Day</a> and Scarlet and Gray offensive coordinator <a href="https://247sports.com/Coach/chip-kelly-25/">Chip Kelly</a> is well known. Day knew Kelly when he was a kid growing up in Manchester. He recruited him to the University of New Hampshire to play quarterback for the Wildcats and coached with him in the NFL."He kind of was the first one to kind of really get into college coaching," <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UkTx_3xGUU&amp;t=78s">Day said of Kelly this week</a>. "And then recruited me to go to the University of New Hampshire. I kind of shared with him then that I wanted to be a coach and then he kind of took me under his wing and then I coached for him and he helped me get some of the jobs that I got along the way."DONATE TO 'THE FOUNDATION': <a href="https://www.thefoundationohio.com/">Click here now to assist with Name, Image and Likeness compensation for Ohio State football and basketball student-athletes.</a>Ohio State's 2024 season is underway. The Buckeyes have kicked off what could be a memorable 2024 season and are already off to a good start! Basketball is building toward the 2024-25 season as well. Stay on top of the latest Buckeye news by BECOMING A BUCKNUTS SUBSCRIBER today!But the story goes deeper and involves another Manchester, New Hampshire resident: <a href="https://247sports.com/Coach/dan-mullen-294/">Dan Mullen</a>.While Mullen is not often discussed in Day's story, he is an important piece of the puzzle that led Day to Ohio State. Mullen became the quarterbacks coach at <a href="https://247sports.com/college/bowling-green/">Bowling Green</a> in 2001 when first-time head coach <a href="https://247sports.com/Coach/urban-meyer-147/">Urban Meyer</a> hired him. When Meyer went to <a href="https://247sports.com/college/utah/">Utah</a> in 2003, he took Mullen with him to coach quarterbacks. When Meyer moved on to <a href="https://247sports.com/college/florida/">Florida</a> in 2005, Mullen became his offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in the SEC.Having known Mullen from Manchester and helped him get into coaching, Kelly called and recommended Day for an open graduate assistant job with the Gators. Day got the job."When Ryan got to Florida, it was because I called Danny because Danny was at Florida at the time and said he was at <a href="https://247sports.com/college/boston-college/">Boston College</a> and the job came open," <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe3nyPkjv_Y&amp;t=17s">Kelly recalled this week</a>. "So I recommended him to Danny and it kind of went from there. But I think it's about who you know sometimes more than what you know, and I think all Ryan ever needed to do was get in front of some people. So if we could open a door to get him in front of people – we didn't get him any jobs. He got the jobs himself, but it was just an opportunity."I knew he had a bright, bright future, and his success wasn't a surprise. But his success wasn't a surprise to anybody that's ever been around him for a while just because you can tell how he's wired."<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4OVRdc_0w2S1x4V00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4OVRdc_0w2S1x4V00" width="1200" height="669" ><figcaption>Dan Mullen with Florida quarterbacks Tim Tebow and Chris Leak in 2006. (Photo: Jason Parkhurst, USA TODAY Sports)</figcaption></figure>While he spent just a year in Gainsville, it would prove to be an important year. After bouncing from <a href="https://247sports.com/college/temple/">Temple</a> to Boston College and back again, Day reunited with Kelly as the quarterbacks coach for the <a href="https://247sports.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/">Philadelphia Eagles</a>. A year later, he went with Kelly to the San Fransisco 49ers before he got a call to come back to college.Calling was Meyer, who, after working with Day at Florida and following his career since, wanted Day to come help <a href="https://247sports.com/coach/Kevin-Wilson-170">Kevin Wilson</a>, another new hire, run the offense in Columbus. "I ended up going to Florida because of Dan Mullen, who's a Manchester guy, and then worked with Urban," Day said, "and then that kind of played out from there. So it kind of gave me my start."Had Kelly had his way, Day's career might have gone differently. The two had conversations about Day joining his staff when Kelly was the head coach at <a href="https://247sports.com/college/oregon/">Oregon</a> from 2009 through 2012. However, the timing was not right for Day, the wide receivers coach at Boston College and a first-time dad not ready to move his young family across the country.That brings us to the present as <a href="https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/longformarticle/chip-kelly-recounts-special-oregon-coaching-experience-ohio-state-oc-set-for-return-to-eugene-237671409/">Kelly prepares to return to Eugene for the fourth time</a> in his post-Ducks career. He does so after reuniting with Day, who took over Ohio State's program following Meyer's retirement in 2019. After five seasons of balancing being the Buckeyes' head coach and calling offensive plays, Day finally turned the playcalling duties over to Kelly this offseason, allowing him to be more of the CEO of the program."I think that's probably the biggest word is trust," Day said when asked about his relationship with Kelly. "Is that when you have trust, you get through a lot of just wasted time because you can be direct with somebody and know that you care about them. And no matter what is said, you can kind of put your arm around each other afterward."This move allowed Kelly, who resigned as the head coach at <a href="https://247sports.com/college/ucla/">UCLA</a> to join Day in Columbus, to <a href="https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/article/in-leaving-ucla-bruins-chip-kelly-was-looking-for-happiness-he-believes-he-found-it-in-a-new-role-at-ohio-state-football-228192141/">focus solely on football</a>.Follow Patrick Murphy on <a href="https://twitter.com/_Pat_Murphy">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/_pat_murphy_/">Instagram</a> for more Ohio State coverageWhat's next for the Buckeyes? Make sure you're in the loop -- take five seconds to sign up for our <a href="http://ohiostate.247sports.com/distribution/signup">FREE Buckeyes newsletter</a> now!"It's been great," Kelly said of the reunion with Day at Ohio State. "I mean, it's all about what we really care about. It's about football. He gets pulled out of some meetings sometimes, and obviously, that's what happens to a head coach. There are other things on his plate besides just the offense and the fact that I can stay in there with (wide receivers coach) <a href="https://247sports.com/coach/Brian-Hartline-4127">Brian Hartline</a> and (offensive line coach) <a href="https://247sports.com/coach/Justin-Frye-1791">Justin Fry</a> and (running backs coach) <a href="https://247sports.com/Coach/carlos-locklyn-4869/">Carlos Locklyn</a> and (tight ends coach) <a href="https://247sports.com/Coach/keenan-bailey-5004/">Keenan Bailey</a>, we'll continue to grind on what we've got to do."The result of getting the band back together has seen Ohio State return to the top 10 in total offense and top five in scoring offense this season. While the Buckeyes have a loaded offensive roster, combining Day's passing concepts with Kelly's approach to the run game has elevated everyone involved and made the Scarlet and Gray a favorite on the road in a top-three matchup against the Ducks on Saturday night.All made possible by a few guys from Manchester, New Hampshire.</div></body>

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Chip Kelly, Dan Mullen, Ryan Day: Guys from Manchester, New Hampshire who helped shaped the Buckeye offense

The college football coaching circle is a small world. It's hard to find a coach at one program that doesn't have a connection to a coach at another. While the coaches come from all over the country, Manchester, New Hampshire, has had a strange impact on college football. Who would have thought that a town of roughly 115,000 people would lead to two coaches helping to guide No. 2 Ohio State this season?

Chip Kelly, Dan Mullen, Ryan Day: Guys from Manchester, New Hampshire who helped shaped the Buckeye offense

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