We went through the Ohio State offensive and defensive performances through the 2021 season.

Now let's look at some of the prominent figures on the coaching staff: what went well in terms of progress and development for their given room throughout the 2021 season, and what didn't.

There's no question where most of Ryan Day's attention lies.

It's on offense. A quarterback whisperer in the same vein as USC head coach Lincoln Riley the development of the signal caller starts with this head coach, taking a player like C.J. Stroud, who had never thrown a collegiate pass in his career, into a Heisman finalist, into someone who led the nation's No. 1 scoring and total offense in 2021, into someone he can trust moving forward into 2022, is mind-boggling in itself.

But again, that's where his attention lies.

When Ohio State had its defensive struggles against Oregon and Tulsa, leading to changes both in coaching personnel — changing the definitive play-caller from Kerry Coombs to Matt Barnes — and scheme — transitioning from a 4-3-4 look to a 4-2-5 — Day said that he would spend more time in defensive meetings and focus more of his attention on its transformation.

There were times where it looked like the combination worked, showing up against Indiana and Michigan State, using the combination of pressure and scheme to stop opposing offenses in a big way. There were times where it didn't, like Purdue and Utah, where the offense had to shoulder the load and take over just so Ohio State had a chance. And there were times where the Buckeyes' defensive struggles just came alive again: the Michigan game.

Offensively, Ohio State looked like one of the best teams in the country at points, which is due to Day's development and selection of player personnel. However, defensively, Ohio State was held back, something that kept Ohio State from reaching its dreams in 2021.

That lies on Day's shoulders too.

Grade: B-

Larry Johnson is beloved in Ohio State circles.

Whether it's due to the development of players like Nick Bosa, Joey Bosa and Chase Young, or his consistent ability to bring in top-tier recruiting talent for the defensive line, Johnson has developed a pipeline for the Buckeyes' defensive line that's truly unprecedented. It's something coaches all around the country, no matter the level, have come to respect and idolize.

That development of young talent continued in 2021, bringing in players like J.T. Tuimoloau — despite coming into the program for the first time in August — Jack Sawyer and Tyleik Williams: players who look to be mainstays in the years to come. It even went into the recruiting trail, developing relationships and securing commitments from Caden Curry, Kenyatta Jackson Jr. and Omari Abor, in 2022, to keep that pipeline moving. And the pipeline may not be finished for the 2022 class, with decisions from Hero Kanu and Christen Miller still looming at defensive tackle.

But there was a lack of consistency in terms of performance in the room.

No player recorded more than eight tackles-for-loss (Zach Harrison) and 5.5 sacks (Haskell Garrett), developing a distinct lack of pressure against both opposing run games and quarterbacks especially late in the season.

While the development of the room seems to be right on schedule, Johnson's room was not as dominant up front as it has been in years past.

Grade: B

Tony Alford's room was extremely young in 2021.

With Master Teague III as the only running back returning with definitive experience in the backfield, Alford saw a youth movement in his room with the emergence of freshman TreVeyon Henderson, turning into one of the most exciting and consistent running backs in the country from his first 70-yard touchdown reception against Minnesota in the season opener.

With Henderson as the featured back, Teague and Miyan Williams served as change-of-pace backs, depending on whichever player was most healthy at a given time.

But as the season went on, whether it was because of Ohio State's affinity for the pass, Ohio State's inability to run block or just the running backs themselves, Henderson and company decreased their efficiency, with the freshman back losing over two yards-per-carry on average in his final five games of the season.

However, Alford and the offense helped adapt, utilizing Henderson more in the check-down passing game, continuing to get him involved, even if it may not be in a traditional handoff form.

This may be where Ohio State's offense is going in 2022: finding that balance of run and pass in the option play, especially with a quarterback who has the accuracy and the arm of Stroud.

But Alford seemed to lead a room that adapted as the season continued, something that he was forced to do on the fly and did, relatively, successfully.

Grade: A-

Kerry Coombs had a rough 2021 season.

After allowing an average of 471.3 yards and 28.7 points in Ohio State's first three games of the season against Minnesota, Oregon and Tulsa, a change needed to be made, moving the defensive coordinator from the sideline with the play sheet, to the coaching box, handing the play sheet off to Barnes.

Instead of Coombs being the play caller, Barnes took over, and it became more of a collective job, seeing improvement, at least enough for Ohio State to move itself back into contention for a Big Ten title and a spot in the College Football Playoff.

During that transition, Coombs seemed on board, continuing to earn the respect of Day and the rest of Ohio State program, something that coaches and players alike were eager to be vocal about throughout the 2021 season.

However, the defense's problems weren't fixed. At best, they were masked, with the same problems — a lack of pressure to stop opposing run games, an inability to stop opposing quarterbacks from attacking the middle of the field, specifically in soft spots in zone coverage between the safeties and linebackers — that continued to show up each and every game.

That's a scheme issue.

And while Coombs' role changed, it was a problem that led to a need for a defensive overhaul, that led to the hiring of Jim Knowles.

Grade: D-

Kevin Wilson's offense led the nation in scoring and yards per game. As offensive coordinator, this is generally a good thing.

However, the position itself he coached was generally non-existent.

The tight ends were more useful than in years past, ending the season with career highs in both receptions and receiving yards for senior tight end Jeremy Ruckert. But for an offense putting up the numbers Ohio State did, it didn't fit the same mold as the other receivers or running backs on the roster.

And this had been the same issues for years, taking over the tight ends position along with offensive coordinator in 2017. Wilson has not really done much to make the tight end position useful in the passing game other than the occasional goal-line score, an extra blocker in the run game and turning one of the tight ends on the roster into a hybrid full back.

Working with Day to put together the best offense in the country definitely helped his case in 2021, though.

Grade: B

There's not much wrong with Brian Hartline, especially after this season.

The Ohio State wide receivers coach developed two future first-round picks in Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave and helped Jaxon Smith-Njigba put together a performance in the Rose Bowl that surpassed both of his predecessors.

Like Johnson, the wide receiver room continues to get deeper and deeper, taking the "next-man-up" approach literally with highly-touted and highly ranked receivers like Julian Fleming, Emeka Egbuka and Marvin Harrison Jr., who showed what he could do with three touchdowns against Utah, just waiting their turn to be in the spotlight.

Hartline's room shows that not one receiver has to be THE guy in an offense, something that really makes recruiting easy, with four top-tier wide receivers coming in in 2022 and with more highly-rated targets on Ohio State's radar considering the Buckeyes heading into the near future.

This is a room that only continues to get stronger, and it's due to Hartline's relatability, relationship building and development of the guys in his room.

You can't really get much better.

Grade: A+

Yes, Day has been viewed as the main quarterback coach on this roster. But Corey Dennis has not hurt Stroud or his development at all.

He's the one on the sideline before games, working with the quarterbacks through drills, having been with Stroud and Kyle McCord since they arrived on campus. He's also been a key recruiter for the position, helping bring in Devin Brown in the 2022 class.

He's been a continuous face in the Ohio State offense for the past six years, spending the two seasons before Day was promoted as his quality control coach for quarterbacks.

Day trusts Dennis with the quarterbacks, and development has continued in the room in a major way. Dennis was massive for Ohio State in 2021.

Grade: A

Matt Barnes was at the center of a lot of defensive attention in 2021.

He was the face of the revamp, taking play-calling duties from Coombs after the Tulsa game, working with Ohio State as it turned its approach into a 4-2-5 look with the extra defensive back in the backfield, especially with a small room at linebacker.

But the same problems for the defense remained, whether it was through the zone and being taken advantage of in the middle of the field, or facing a zone run on the outside, with opposing offensive lines finding consistent holes, to Ohio State's inability to tackle, allowing open space to run for big yardage, something that hurt Ohio State tremendously in 2021 at points, especially in the secondary.

Barnes, who left Ohio State after the Rose Bowl to become the defensive coordinator at Memphis, was the face of a collective defensive effort, but it was something that was not fixed as the season went along.

Ohio State still struggled. It still was able to win games, but the struggles didn't stop. Progress wasn't really made. It was just masked.

Grade: D+

Greg Studrawa's goal in 2021 was to have the best five offensive lineman on the field at one time.

But while Ohio State did its job at points, keeping Stroud protected and giving him time to throw, it didn't seem like the best option.

The line seemed to be mismatched together, moving Thayer Munford to guard in his final season with the Buckeyes after an incredibly successful career at tackle. Paris Johnson Jr., a converted tackle, also continued to play guard.

Especially later in the year, the line struggled to develop consistent run lanes, especially through the tackle and the guard, for Henderson, Williams and Teague: backs that seem to thrive at the second level.

It was something Studrawa was really forced to do with a room full of linemen that had not yet been developed.

This was the reason for the change, with Ohio State confirming Thursday that Studrawa was no longer a member of Ohio State's coaching staff.

The offensive line did its best, but it was not put in a good position at all.

Grade: C-

Al Washington's room continued to get smaller and smaller as the season moved on.

The Ohio State linebackers room lost two members four weeks into the season to the transfer portal: K'Vaughan Pope, who left the field midgame against Akron, and Dallas Gant.

With it, Washington's job became a lot harder, facing the scrutiny of the image of his room, while being forced to adjust and adapt with only a limited amount of resources.

Washington made it work at points, converting former running back Steele Chambers to linebacker, while later moving Cade Stover out to the position in the Michigan game and the Rose Bowl. Ohio State also cut its defensive set to two linebackers for much of the season, while bringing back three in the final game of the season against Utah.

Washington did what he could to patch things up in his room despite massive struggles, but also built for the future, keeping commitments of CJ Hicks and Gabe Powers.

Washington's room may be in good shape moving forward, but the struggles were still massive in 2021.

Grade: C