Analyzing why 2024 is a now-or-never season for Ryan Day, Chip Kelly at Ohio State

Less than four months before the 2024 season actually begins, the hype surrounding projected preseason No. 1 Ohio State is already sky-high. Ryan Day and the Buckeyes are set up well for redemptive success during the regular season and in the College Football Playoff after two years of missing out. However, that hype comes with plenty of pressure if the season doesn’t turn out how fans expect this fall.

On3’s Andy Staples and J.D. PicKell discussed the now-or-never nature of the upcoming season at Ohio State on Friday. Given the top-to-bottom talent on this year’s Buckeyes roster, Staples believes everything is on the line this season, even if the program will be able to continue to contend into the future.

“It’s not now or never for Ohio State in terms of national title contention because, like, if they don’t win the national title this year, an Ohio State team at some point in the next two or three years is going to be competing for a national title,” Staples said. “That’s what Ohio State does. But you’re rarely going to see a team as set up to win a national title, from roster to coaching staff to everything, more than this Ohio State team.”

With that said, the conversation then shifted to Day. Not achieving something of significance with this team, whether in The Game vs. bitter rival Michigan, the Big Ten, or in the College Football Playoff, could be another mark against Day’s recent resumé. That’s what Day agreed to deal with, though, according to PicKell, even though he remains supportive of the Buckeyes’ head coach.

“I personally have been extremely pro-Ryan Day, probably even to a fault. Like, my thing is he has won north of 87% of his games,” said PicKell. “However, a lot of those losses have come from the team that you just can’t lose to. You just can’t lose to Michigan and he has lost to Michigan now three times in a row. If it’s a fourth time in a row, I think there could be some very real unrest.

“I think he has adapted a lot and I think he deserves a lot of credit for that. But, at the end of the day, especially in Columbus? Like, it’s a bottom line business. You’ve got to beat Michigan and you’ve got to go win national championships,” PicKell added. “All that’s to say is it feels now or never for Ryan Day, as much as I disagree with that. But he knows what he signed up for being the head coach there. It has got to be this year with all they have on defense and all they have on that roster period.”

With this being the case, much will be made of Ohio State’s offensive coordinator hire in former Oregon and UCLA head coach Chip Kelly. Kelly, a successful head coach himself while also being a former mentor to Day, comes in to call the Buckeyes’ loaded 2024 offense in an accepted step down in his career.

Still, given his offseason move, Kelly too has eyes on him to do work that will help out Day this season.

“Last year, I’d say, they got where they needed to be defensively. So now they need to get where they need to be offensively,” said Staples. “Bringing in Chip Kelly? I think that’s the most fascinating hire of the offseason. I realize that wasn’t the original plan. The original plan was Bill O’Brien then he gets hired for the head coaching job at Boston College. But, like, Chip Kelly is the perfect person to hire if you’re Ryan Day and you’re trying to decide, ‘Okay, how do I handle giving up play-calling to handle the more global aspects of this job? Because who do I trust to call plays for me?’ Well, who more do you trust than the guy who taught you how to call plays?

“You hand Chip Kelly this uber-talented roster and say, ‘Okay, now overachieve with this’ and see what that looks like,” Staples added.

With the perspective on them coming in, championships or bust will really be the standard for Ohio State in 2024. It’s just a matter of if these Buckeyes can live up to that hype or if they’ll once again fall short along the way and what impact either result could have on Day’s and Kelly’s future in Columbus.