Paul Finebaum calls Ryan Day a 'busted stock on Wall Street'

New relationships are being formed in the Ohio State athletic department. Ross Bjork was just hired away from Texas A&M after spending just over five years in College Station. Bjork now takes over one of the biggest athletic departments in the country and will work alongside Ryan Day, who may be facing some heat at the moment.

In fact, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum is worried about the long-term future Day has at Ohio State. Bjork has fired two head coaches at his last two stops, with the latest being Jimbo Fisher. While at Ole Miss, Bjork had to let go of Hugh Freeze due to scandals hitting the program.

Day is already under a bit of fire and with a new athletic director in town, Finebaum believes his popularity is not going up in Columbus.

“The coach I am more concerned about right now more than anyone is Ryan Day,” Finebaum said. “Don’t throw up his gaudy record. I’m well aware of what he has done. But his popularity — he looks like a busted stock on Wall Street.”

The past three seasons have ended in disappointment for Ohio State. Three consecutive losses to Michigan has been unheard of for the Buckeyes in the modern era. It’s a rivalry everyone inside the program expects to dominate but they have fallen short recently.

Michigan winning a national championship only adds to the pressure.

Potential good news for Ohio State, though — Jim Harbaugh is thought to be leaving Ann Arbor in favor of an NFL job. He has interviewed with multiple teams, most notably the Los Angeles Chargers. Nothing yet has been made official but Michigan may have to go through a coaching search this offseason.

Ohio State needs to beat Michigan in 2024, no matter the circumstances. But if a new coach is wearing the Maize and Blue, Finebaum does not believe Day can survive a loss.

“Should he lose to the new coach at Michigan, whoever that is, this guy has got problems,” Finebaum said.

Ohio State has made the College Football Playoff three times under Day but has failed to win a national championship. Just once have they advanced out of the semifinals. If the Buckeyes cannot lift the trophy this season, it will mark the 10-year anniversary since the famous run in 2014 under Urban Meyer.

Heading into every season, Step 1 for Ohio State is beating Michigan. Step 2, win the Big Ten. Step 3, win the national championship.

If Day can even get past Step 1 in 2024, maybe his stock will bounce back and once again start trending in the right direction — at least in Finebaum’s eyes.