“Manchester, New Hampshire, is not what you think of as the hotbed of football,” said former Florida coach and Manchester native Dan Mullen.

Even if it doesn’t produce the talent of a Southeastern state, it still carries weight – especially at Ohio State. Coach Ryan Day is a product of Manchester, as is his offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.

Their bond dates back to when Day played for Kelly at the University of New Hampshire. It’s a connection that may have helped Day make the biggest decision of his coaching career: turning his offense over to Kelly in the offseason.

“I trust Chip with my life, and that’s a big part of it any time you hand something like this over,” Day said in July.

The signing set the stage for a pivotal season in Columbus and gives Day a familiar face in his corner when No. 2 Ohio State plays No. 3 Oregon on Saturday (7:30 p.m., NBC).

In one of the biggest games of the season, the Buckeyes have a play-caller who revolutionized football during his years with the Ducks.

Gary Crowton’s coaching career began in his home state of Utah, where he was a graduate assistant for BYU before working as an assistant for Snow College.

This was followed by a brief stint at Western Illinois before becoming offensive coordinator for New Hampshire in 1988.

There, Crowton helped run clinics — one of which he estimated included 33 participants. At some point the group split in two, with Crowton taking one group into a room while a colleague took the others.

Only one person appeared in Crowton’s room: a young Chip Kelly.

“It was just a desk and a big whiteboard, and I was just talking to him about the passing game,” Crowton said.

A few years later, in 1990, Kelly began coaching when he was hired as an assistant at Columbia University. Two years later, he was committed to UNH, where he once played defensive back.

Kelly progressed from an assistant to an offensive coordinator with the Wildcats, where Day became his quarterback (1998-2001). It combined two Manchester High School Central products.

Although there is a 15-year age difference between the two, those who left Manchester had a knack for keeping up. Mullen, who graduated from Trinity High School in Manchester, experienced it first hand with Day, who is seven years younger. Whenever he came home, Mullen would see newspaper clippings about Day and the success he was having on the gridiron.

“We all come from the same hometown,” Mullen said, “and in this town everyone takes care of each other.”

In 2005, Crowton joined Mike Bellotti’s staff at Oregon to serve as offensive coordinator. However, he left LSU two years later to take the same position. That’s why Bellotti was looking for a replacement.

“I really pushed for (Kelly) to get it,” Crowton said.

Kelly was hired and completed his tenure at UNH. But his 14-year stay there shaped one of the sport’s sharpest offensive minds.

“Being at a school like the University of New Hampshire allows you to think outside the box,” Mullen said. “You may not be under much scrutiny because you’re at big schools.”

Kelly spent two seasons under Bellotti before taking the head coaching position at Oregon.

He went 46-7 in four seasons with the Ducks. In each of his last three seasons, Oregon ranked in the top five nationally in yards per game.

The core of Kelly’s offensive plan was a strong rush that fielded a complex defensive unit. Behind a spread offense and dual-threat quarterbacks, Kelly utilized option plays and developed perhaps the best and most creative play-action attack in the history of the game.

He led the Ducks to a BCS game every year, including a loss in the 2010 national title game. Oregon running back LaMichael James finished third in Heisman Trophy voting that season.

Kelly wanted Day to be a part of his success at Oregon. However, Day’s son RJ had just been born and the family didn’t want to move across the country from Boston College.

Still, Day kept pace with his mentor’s success.

“I, like everyone else, watched him revolutionize football back then,” Day said.

In 2013, Kelly became the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. He spent 2016 at the helm of the San Francisco 49ers before taking the head coaching position at UCLA in 2018.

Now he’s back in the press box as offensive coordinator for his former quarterback.

“It was great,” Kelly said. “It depends on what we really care about. It’s about football.”

Mullen’s playing career at Ursinus College ended in 1993 and he joined Kelly in hopes of becoming a coach. Kelly knew the Wagner College staff and helped Mullen get his first gig.

About a decade later, Kelly made a similar call to Mullen.

Day was looking for a graduate assistant job in 2005, and Florida — where Urban Meyer had just been hired as head coach and Mullen was its offensive coordinator — had space.

“Chip helped me, and I wanted to help the other guys,” Mullen said.

“(Kelly is) probably the biggest influence in my life in football,” Day said.

Kelly admitted that coaching is often about who you know and not what you know. However, he believes connections were only part of what landed Day in Florida.

He still had to win his interviews.

“We didn’t get him any jobs,” Kelly said. “He got the jobs himself… I wouldn’t have recommended him if I didn’t think he could do a really good job. I knew he would be successful.”

Day’s talent quickly became apparent to Mullen.

“He’s one of those guys that when you talk about football, the game makes sense,” Mullen said. “There are people from all different types of music. A musician can pick up a guitar and start playing and it just makes sense to them. I can learn all the lessons in the world, but that’s just not going to happen.

“I can go to the driving range and hit balls for 10 hours a day and not hit like Tiger Woods.”

Day spent his coaching career entirely as an assistant — including two years on Kelly’s staff with the Eagles and 49ers — until taking over as full-time head coach at Ohio State in 2019 following Meyer’s departure.

His responsibilities grew, but Day remained in control of his offense. That changed this offseason when he originally hired Bill O’Brien, another New England native, as his offensive coordinator.

O’Brien left shortly thereafter to serve as head coach of Boston College. Kelly left UCLA to fill the void.

“When you have someone who is like-minded and you have a lot of trust in who is calling the shots on offense,” Mullen said, “that’s something that really makes your life easier, makes your job easier and that’s it .” will make you more successful.”

The early results are promising, as Ohio State has the second-best offense in the Big Ten. Right behind the Buckeyes is their next opponent.

Oregon is Day’s first big test of a crucial season, but it also brings with it an added comfort: A coach he knows as well as anyone will call the plays for his offense.

“It’s not just a story of two years together in the NFL,” Kelly said. “It’s been 40 years growing up in the same hometown.”