It’s finished: There are no more reasonable justifications for Ohio State to retain Ryan Day. The Buckeyes need to let go of their unsuccessful head coach at last.
After the Buckeyes’ 13-10 defeat to bitter rival Michigan in “The Game” at Ohio Stadium last Saturday, Ryan Day is dealing with more and more serious concerns over his job security as the head coach of Ohio State football.
The voices of the most vocal fans on message boards and social media are no longer the only ones calling for action against Day.
Cris Carter, a former Ohio State standout and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, stated on “The Stephen A. Smith Show” on Tuesday that Day ought to be fired if the Buckeyes don’t win the national championship.
Carter commented, “At Ohio State, your job could be at risk if you consider the quarterbacks he’s worked with, the offensive success he’s achieved, and the inability to consistently win the big games (like against Michigan) with only one victory and no national championships.”
Carter’s analysis supports a lot of the criticisms that have been leveled against Day over the past several years, including the claims that he has NFL potential at offensive skill positions but hasn’t won a national championship and frequently loses to Michigan.
Last Saturday’s loss occurred against a Michigan team that was only 6-5 and a three-touchdown underdog, but previous defeats against the Wolverines may be attributed to a formidable opponent, such as a 30-24 loss in Ann Arbor against the eventual national champions last season.
Despite beginning the season ranked second in the US LBM Coaches Poll and boasting one of the league’s strongest rosters, bolstered by high-profile transfer additions such as safety Caleb Downs, quarterback Will Howard, and running back Quinshon Judkins, the Buckeyes finished the regular season with at least two losses for only the second time since 2018.
Since becoming Ohio State’s full-time coach ahead of the 2019 season, Day has a 1-4 record against Michigan. He is the only Buckeyes coach since John Cooper (1988–1991) to lose to the Wolverines in four consecutive years.
Carter commented, “What else is there to achieve if you lose 1-4 against Michigan and don’t win a national championship? My coach at Ohio State, Earle Bruce, went 9-3 a couple of seasons and still got fired. John Cooper had all the Heisman Trophy winners, Outland Trophy winners, and major first-round draft picks.”
During his tenure at Ohio State, Day had a 66-10 record. In 2018, he served as interim head coach for three games while Urban Meyer was suspended. Day has guided the Buckeyes to the playoffs three times during that span, with the 2020 season ending with a trip to the national championship game serving as the high point. Although it’s a solid record, Day took over a program that was doing quite well and finished 86-9 from 2012 to 2018.
During his interview with Smith, Carter revisited this topic, citing a discussion he had with Meyer towards the end of his time in Columbus. “I have a program that should win two of the next three or four national championships,” Meyer said in response to Carter’s question on his team’s makeup for the upcoming season.
Carter added, “And then Ryan Day took over.”
Julian Sayin, a transfer from Alabama
Julian Sayin, a transfer from Alabama, seems to be the front-runner in Columbus for now, but St. Clair might challenge Sayin for the starting position or possibly start right away. Similar to Michigan’s Bryce Underwood, who is the top-ranked quarterback in the 2025 class and is expected to have an immediate impact.
There is little doubt that the Buckeyes have their guy, and St. Clair is more eager than ever to make an immediate impression at Ohio State, where he will be joining one of the best recruiting classes in the country.
Supporters of Ohio State want Ryan Day fired.
The defeat to Michigan this past weekend marked Ohio State’s fourth consecutive defeat against the Wolverines. Day now has a 1-4 record versus Ohio State’s fiercest opponent. Many OSU supporters are calling for Day’s dismissal because of the team’s four consecutive defeats to Michigan and the fact that he has failed to lead Ohio State to a national championship.
Whether or whether that was a wise choice is one thing, but the post above uses Smart as justification for Day’s termination. The premise of the post is that Smart has a 1-6 lifetime record versus Alabama yet has yet to be dismissed. However, this reasoning is completely nonsensical.
To begin with, Alabama and Georgia are not competitors. But maybe the most intense rivalry in college football is between Michigan and Ohio State. Therefore, even though Georgia dislikes Alabama, it is not nearly as hateful as the animosity between Ohio State and Michigan.
Then comes the apparent explanation for why this comparison is illogical. Day has won no national titles, while Smart has won two at Georgia. This discussion’s dynamic is entirely altered by that one information.
This comparison to Smart will make sense if Day wins the national championship, which he still has a chance to achieve this season. But, since one coach has won at the greatest level on numerous occasions and the other hasn’t yet won the big game, it would be prudent to avoid comparing these two coaches until then.
