Head coach Ryan Day prior to the No. 2 Buckeyes 10-13 loss against Michigan Saturday at the Ohio Stadium. Credit: Carly Damon | Asst. Photo Editor
Ohio State lost to Michigan again, and many fans are calling for change.
And as expected, the response has been an emotionally charged dialogue regarding Ryan Day’s standing. Some people believe the Buckeyes head coach is as good as gone, others want to give him a chance in the playoffs and a handful are standing by him no matter what.
To give credit to the latter group, here’s why Ohio State should not fire Ryan Day.
One of the most common arguments made to poke holes in Day’s credibility is that he was “a nobody” before being hired, implying he got the job from his connection with former head coach Urban Meyer, rather than merit.
This narrative suggests firing him would be risk-free, since any new, “real coach” would be an upgrade.
The only shortcoming to this claim is that it’s completely unfounded.
Day got his first big coaching gigs as the offensive coordinator at Temple and Boston College. He became the quarterbacks coach for the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers before landing the Ohio State offensive coordinator job in 2017.
He subsequently served as an interim head coach at Ohio State during Urban Meyer’s administrative leave, winning all three games in that timespan and proving he could lead in a higher capacity.
Through it all, Day earned consistent approval from legendary college football coaches Meyer and then-UCLA head coach Chip Kelly.
For comparison, head coach Dan Lanning — who receives national praise for leading No. 1 Oregon — had a resume similar to Day’s, if not slightly less impressive.
Before becoming the Ducks coach, Lanning served as the inside linebackers coach at Memphis, then the outside linebackers coach — and later the defensive coordinator — at Georgia.
Lanning has done an outstanding job at Oregon, that’s no question. But the similarities between the two coaches demonstrate that criticism toward Day stems more from frustration than from an accurate assessment of his credibility.
Coaches like Day and Lanning landed big coaching jobs, despite a lack of head-coaching experience, because they were unbelievably impressive in the capacities they served within, rising to be selected above their peers.
Frustrated Buckeyes seek to undercut Day’s credibility because it’s convenient at the moment.
Many have also remarked that four consecutive losses to Michigan is a fireable offense, no matter what, and that Day can never win “The Game.”
As a reminder, former Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh lost his first five meetings against Ohio State. In those games, the Buckeyes outscored Michigan 221-126.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart started 0-4 against his rival, Alabama. He is 1-6 against them overall.
These comparisons do not excuse Day, but they hint that patience might be necessary in high-stakes games. These patterns also might suggest that a coach’s performance in rivalry games fail to tell the full story about their abilities and future.
To put it in perspective, both Harbaugh and Smart ended up breaking through and beating their respective rivals en route to winning a national championship.
What’s more, Day is 66-10 at Ohio State with a Big Ten Championship and a win over Michigan to his name. He’s also won a playoff game as an underdog and coached his team in a national championship.
There have been letdowns, but Day has demonstrated an ability to win big games to about the same extent as these other coaches did in their early coaching struggles.
We are in a changing era of college football, and we need to evaluate our priorities.
Ohio State is on a short list of teams that can win a national championship this year. No other head coach in college football — or any sport, for that matter — is evaluated on the basis of anything besides winning an overall championship.
The goalposts are shifted for Day.
Because of the disproportionate value attached to The Game, Ohio State and its head coach are not allowed to be singularly focused on winning a national championship.
This is a massive hindrance to Day and the Ohio State football program at large.
Do you think Smart is thinking about Georgia’s Week 5 loss to rival Alabama? Will this loss matter to Georgia fans if the Bulldogs win it all?
The answer is no.
Likewise, if Ohio State wants to compete for championships, the Buckeye mindset has to be national.
College football’s transition to a 12-team playoff and rampant conference realignment have made the sport reminiscent of the NFL. Regular season games hold less value than before.
Of course, The Game is extremely important and traditions need to be preserved, even in modern college football. There’s no doubt that Day needs to address his rivalry game struggles — just as Harbaugh did, winning his final three matchups against the Buckeyes.
However, Ohio State fans must separate emotion from reason; uprooting the program over one game would be irresponsible, especially when the main objective — winning a national championship — is still achievable.
Success at the highest level takes time, and patience is rarely a strong suit for sports fans. Yet Ohio State’s consistent presence in the national conversation should not be taken for granted.
Blueblood programs like Florida, USC, Nebraska and Miami fell from prominence largely due to impatience with coaches who couldn’t immediately “get them over the top.”
Ohio State has never had to worry about going 7-5 and playing in a meaningless bowl game, or missing it altogether.
The 2024 Buckeyes have a national championship to play for, largely due to the efforts of their head coach. Do not let impatience and impulsiveness jeopardize the program’s future — success like this is rare and fragile.
