Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork expressed strong confidence on Thursday that Ryan Day will return as head coach in 2025.
Despite calls for Day’s dismissal following the Buckeyes’ fourth consecutive loss to Michigan, Bjork, in an interview on 97.1 The Fan, reaffirmed that Day is the right fit for the job, regardless of how Ohio State performs in the College Football Playoff. The Buckeyes will face Tennessee in a first-round matchup on December 21.
“Coach Day is awesome,” Bjork said, praising the coach’s work ethic and passion for Ohio State. “He’s great to work with. He totally gets it. He loves being a Buckeye. So, we’re going to support him at the highest level.”
The 13-10 loss to Michigan, coupled with a post-game altercation between the teams, put Day in a difficult position, with the coach and players being booed off the field by the home crowd. Bjork responded by releasing a statement expressing his support for Day.
“The reason we had to say something after the Michigan game is, we’re still breathing, we’re still alive,” Bjork explained. “The season’s not over. The book is not closed.”
Thanks to the playoff, Day has an opportunity to regain favor with Ohio State fans with a win over Tennessee, and potentially more success in the 12-team tournament. Regardless of the outcome, Bjork confirmed that Day will be back next year.
“Coach Day and I just hit it off so well,” Bjork said. “I’ve been really, really impressed. Every single time I talked to him, I learn something. He’s innovative. He recruits at the highest level. He’s got a great staff.”
Day himself did not directly address his job security following the Michigan loss, saying, “When you first come off those types of things, there’s a lot of emotion. And then as time goes on, you’ve got to get refocused because you know what you’ve done in the past does not affect what’s going on moving forward. Everything is out in front of us.”
Day’s inability to consistently beat Michigan is one of the few blemishes on his coaching record. Hired in 2017 as part of Urban Meyer’s staff, Day succeeded Meyer in 2018. With a 66-10 overall record, Day is highly respected in the coaching community.
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel praised Day’s career, saying, “Great respect for what he’s done in his coaching career, what he’s done there at Ohio State and the success that they’ve had year in and year out.”
Despite his success, losing to Michigan is seen as unacceptable by Ohio State fans. Bjork acknowledged this but emphasized the importance of focusing on the process rather than just the outcome.
“What we have to do is this whole ‘championship or bust’ mentality, you want that as the goal, but it has to be about the process,” Bjork said. “To me, we’ve got to maybe change some conversations a little bit. I think we need to maybe just approach things a little bit differently.”
