Joel Klatt dismisses idea Ryan Day is on hot seat, potential Mike Vrabel reunion

Ohio State fans are restless for success against their rival and in the postseason, but Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt believes Ryan Day is still far from the hot seat even with some disappointing results in those areas.

Despite the fact that Day has already gotten Ohio State to multiple College Football Playoffs and has never lost more than two games in a season, Buckeye fans aren’t satisfied with him as OSU head coach, particularly when it comes to the team’s record in the later months of the year. The fans want two simple things: wins over Michigan and wins in the CFP. Ohio State has zero of either in the previous two seasons.

This week, an opportunity for a big win presents itself as the Buckeyes go on the road to face a Notre Dame squad that’s come out of the gate hot. Sure, a win in South Bend isn’t quite as sweet as one over Michigan or in the CFP, but it’s a marquee victory out of conference and away from home that they can hang their hat on.

Plus, as Joel Klatt explained on his show this week, a win would definitely help silence some of those whispers of Ryan Day being on the hot seat.

“Unfortunately for for Ryan, he’s got these incredible numbers against everybody else in the country, and then when he goes to the Playoff or faces Michigan, those numbers go the opposite direction,” explained Klatt, noting the opportunity to earn a prestigious win this weekend.

“This would go a long way if you were able to go on the road with a young quarterback and this team and win at Notre Dame,” he added. “That would go a long way in dispelling that narrative. I also believe that this would be a real feather in the cap for the team from a confidence perspective.”

To be clear, Klatt himself doesn’t believe in the hot seat nonsense with Ryan Day.

“Ryan’s an excellent coach. You know, Day is easily in the top five in college football of coaches. That’s why I think it’s laughable, this narrative of, like, ‘well, he should be on the hot seat.'”

For folks who do think Day belongs on the hot seat, Klatt had a pretty fiery line of questioning:

“What do you mean, hot seat? Who are you going to get? Like, stop it. What are we doing? You guys all think Mike Vrabel is going to come back? Why would he come back? Why would he come back to be under this level of scrutiny and have to go recruit in the NIL and portal age? Come on. What are we doing?”

Were those seven aggressive questions from Joel Klatt enough to convince you that Ryan Day does not belong on the hot seat? Even if they didn’t, the Fox Sports pundit believes a win over the Irish should certainly squash any such ideas.