Why Ohio State Should Fire Ryan Day
WHY OHIO STATE SHOULD FIRE RYAN DAY – It seems crazy to be writing this about a man who has gone 66-10 in his time at this job. At most schools, Ryan Day would be set up for an extension, not a pink slip.
But Ohio State is not most schools.
Related: Mack Brown’s Firing
And the reality is that while Day is 64-6 against schools not named Michigan, he’s 2-4 against That Team Up North, and the Buckeyes have now lost four in a row to the Wolverines. Michigan won the national title last year, and despite losing coach Jim Harbaugh to the NFL, little changed this year in The Game. Sherrone Moore once again got the better of Day, leading the Wolverines to a stunning 13-10 win.
Having watched Ohio State go through Indiana like a hot knife through butter in Ohio Stadium one week earlier, the contrast was stunning. And that presents the biggest reason why Ohio State needs to move on.
Michigan Is In Day’s Head
Beating a rival means a lot in college sports. Losing to a rival means a lot in the opposite direction. But Ohio State and Day have taken Michigan to an unhealthy obsession. And what makes it even worse for Day is it’s not the first time this rivalry has chewed up and spit out a coach who took it too far.
In 2011, Michigan hired Brady Hoke, a Michigan man through and through. Hoke took the rivalry with Ohio State seriously, so much so that he refused to call the school Ohio State. Instead, he referred to the Buckeyes as “Ohio”. (Never mind that there actually IS an Ohio University, which plays in the MAC and is located in Athens. Hoke got around this by calling them “Bobcats”.)
Related: Is Indiana Football for Real Under Curt Cignetti?
While not technically incorrect (the school’s official name, as it never tires of telling people, is The Ohio State University), it made Hoke seem silly and made clear he was focused too much on the Buckeyes. And after beating Luke Fickell in year one, Hoke dropped three straight to Urban Meyer and was promptly shown the door.
Day has leaned hard into calling Michigan “That Team Up North” and compared the Buckeyes’ losses to Michigan to the death of his father. That’s not healthy; that’s obsession. And Ohio State plays like a team that is obsessed with Michigan. When things start to go wrong against the Wolverines, the Buckeyes panic. They get conservative, and they get away with what makes them great.
Related: The Failure of Florida State
Against Indiana, the Buckeyes showed no panic. They gave up a touchdown on the opening drive to the Hoosiers, then were promptly stopped at the Indiana 1 on their possession. The Hoosiers could have been in prime position to knock the Buckeyes out early. But Ohio State stayed focused, forced a punt and took over the game.
Day Comes Up Small Under Pressure
Why could Ohio State handle Indiana, but not Michigan? Because the Buckeyes don’t consider that a pressure situation. When Ohio State doesn’t play with pressure, the Buckeyes play really well.
But Day has gone just 2-7 in the games that matter most at Ohio State: the College Football Playoff and games against Michigan. Ohio State’s best performance in the playoff was when the Buckeyes nearly beat Georgia two years ago, in part because nobody expected Ohio State to even play with Georgia. The Buckeyes played freely, the same way they do most of the time.
Related: Pistols Misfiring: Oklahoma State
All of this is an indictment on Day. The Buckeyes can handle Penn State because the Nittany Lions have the same mental block that they do with Michigan. They can handle Indiana because they always handle Indiana. But against Michigan, Ohio State thinks of the Wolverines every waking moment and then cracks under the pressure.
Day Seems Lost In-Game
A great coach can win a game or two for their team. Dan Lanning of Oregon did exactly that when the Ducks came up against the Buckeyes, intentionally getting 12 men on the field to get Ohio State to burn clock. Day hasn’t been that kind of coach in Columbus.
Saturday was a brilliant example. Day was frozen solid during this game. On one third-and-10 from the Michigan 20, Day inexplicably called for a draw play. Ohio State then missed the field goal and didn’t score again. On Michigan’s final drive, Ohio State got caught with 12 on the field after burning a timeout, giving the Wolverines a first down. And then at the end of the game, when Michigan attempted to plant its flag at midfield, Day stood frozen, rather than getting his players off the field.
Then Day came up with this: “I don’t know all the details of it, but I know those guys were looking to put a flag on our field and our guys weren’t going to let that happen.”
Ryan, your guys already let that happen: the flag on your field was Michigan’s 13-10 victory.
Moving On From Day
Ohio State has not done Day any favors with its obsession over Michigan, but that has always been the standard in Columbus. And although Day has dominated otherwise, he might not have the right personality for this job. The Ohio State coach must beat Michigan, but not become obsessed. And Day has been obsessed, which brings out the worst in his team.
The reality is that Day is probably better off at a school that doesn’t have this kind of rivalry attached to it, or at least, one that has a rival he can dominate. A school like North Carolina would make a ton of sense for Day. Its rivals are fierce but beatable. Day could easily dominate N.C. State and Duke year after year, and the Tar Heels certainly have the money for him to recruit well. He could win 10 games a year in Chapel Hill most years, make the fan base there very happy and probably make himself very happy.
That’s a recipe for misery in Columbus when one of the 10 isn’t Michigan. And the Buckeyes need someone who isn’t going to get intimidated by Michigan. In this rivalry, that means more than overall record. As good as his record has been, this seems like a fit that isn’t working.
