Ryan Day is not going to be fired by Ohio State… for now! The university’s athletic director revealed where the college football coach stands in terms of job security with an issuance of strong support on Sunday after the brutal loss to Michigan on Saturday.
Although this should not come as a surprise, given the time year, it is wild to be having this conversation about a program that is highly unlikely to miss out on the College Football Playoff regardless of what happens in the Big Ten Championship.
Day took over the Buckeyes in 2019. He is 63-10 over the last six seasons. However, the 45-year-old has not defeated the Wolverines since his first year. It has been four-straight years of losses. Some are worse than others, and any loss to That School Up North is unacceptable, but Saturday was the worst.
Michigan will finish at 7-5, barely. Ohio State was expected to go undefeated and is still expected to win a national championship. Urban Meyer and Jim Tressel, the two predecessors to Day, offered high praise for the roster prior to the season. What might be the best team in school history (on paper) cost no less than $20 million to assemble.
Tressel and Meyer knew exactly what they were doing. On one end, they were speaking the truth. On the other end, they wanted to establish the expectation for Day and turned up the pressure. If he did not meet expectations, their comments set up both former coaches to be remembered even more fondly as winners— and we know at least one of the two loves attention. Their comments also established Day’s fate if he does not make a deep playoff run, probably. It is increasingly unlikely that he returns for 2025 if the Buckeyes don’t win the national championship or at least make the championship game.
Ryan Day’s seat is scorching hot!
A loss to the Wolverines heightens those expectations. Nothing short of a national title will do in a year where Ohio State lost to one of the worst Michigan teams in recent history and got in a postgame brawl. Fans are furious. They are calling for his head.
Athletic director Ross Bjork tried to put out some of the fires during his press conference on Sunday night. He offered a similar sentiment to the fans about national championship or bust (through much more positive and encouraging words) and made it clear that Ryan Day will not be fired.
Our full focus right now is on the College Football Playoff and making a strong run. We have a ton to play for. We have a great team made up of talented players and great young men. Coach Day does a great job leading our program. He’s our coach.
— Ross Bjork
In doing so, Bjork noted the highest academic performance of any team in school history and pointed to the third-ranked recruiting class. He likes what he sees when he looks at the foundation of the program.
There’s a ton of stability across the board within the program. We’re always in the top five under his leadership. We’re right there. We have great fan support, great donor support.
— Ross Bjork
Bjork understands the severity of the rivalry loss, but he is not going to let it ruin the season.
We’re disappointed (with Saturday’s loss), but he’s our coach. I’m focused on supporting our players and our coaches and continuing to get to know our fan base and our donor base and leading through this disappointing time.
— Ross Bjork
The Playoff is the focus.
There’s going to be plenty of time to dissect what happened in the rivalry game the last couple years. But right now, we have to keep the main thing the main thing, and that’s focus on the values of the program, focus on why we lead the young men, focus on the mission and the playoff.
— Ross Bjork
Should things not go well for Ohio State in the postseason, Bjork might sing a different tune.
Let’s go make a run in the Playoff. That’s all I’m going to say. Let’s go make a run in the playoff. That’s what we’ve got to do.
— Ross Bjork
Ryan Day will keep his job. For now.