Ryan Day shares what has changed the most since arrival at Ohio State
In 2017, Ryan Day left the NFL to become the co-offensive coordinator at Ohio State. By 2019, he was the Buckeyes’ head coach. Since then, college athletics have gone through numerous changes that Day has had to adapt to while keeping Ohio State among the game’s elite programs.
As Day explained to Joel Klatt on Big Noon Conversations, the only consistent thing during his time at Ohio State has actually been that something is going to change.
“I think when I first got here, you think about where things were and where they are now,” Ryan Day said. “But I think the thing that has stayed consistent is that every year there’s been a lot of change.”
For Day, these changes have been personal, at times, as he’s stepped into new roles. Other times, they’ve impacted the entire sport.
“Really started early on. It was a big change for me to come here and then it was a lot of change in ’18 and then my first year in ’19. Then there was Covid and now you have the transfer portal, you have NIL. So, one thing that’s stayed consistent is change and things move faster now than ever. I saw or heard something that our guys now process more information in a day than they would in 1776 in a whole lifetime.”
Ryan Day went on to explain that it’s important to embrace and adapt to these changes. Otherwise, you’re not going to succeed.
“You know, things just move faster nowadays and so you have to be willing to adapt. And it’s something that early on, I embraced was that it’s not just gonna be the way it used to be and to think that that’s going to happen is to set yourself up for failure. So, sometimes you feel like you’re driving without breaks going down the highway, but it’s part of the process,” Day said.
“I think it’s part of the environment, and I think a big part of it is how competitive things are. When you’re in an environment where things are so competitive, it’s gonna change really fast, and so being adaptive is important.”
Paul Finebaum says Ryan Day is already on the hot seat
In four full seasons, plus a few games where he replaced Urban Meyer, at Ohio State, Ryan Day has a 45-6 record. In Big Ten play, Day has also posted a 31-2 record, while winning the Big Ten twice and has gone to the College Football Playoff three times.
Despite all that success, Paul Finebaum thinks he’s already on the hot seat.
“Believe it or not, Ryan Day is going to be on the hot seat, according to some people, if he loses to Michigan again. Remember when Jim Harbaugh couldn’t beat anyone? Ryan Day’s had a really good run. He’s played for a championship, he’s been in the playoffs. Came within a whisker of getting back to the championship game. But fans around the country are going, ‘When are you going to win us a title like Urban [Meyer] did in 2014?’” Finebaum said.
“He’s got a talented team that everyone would love to have, Matt. He’s got the best wide receiver room in the country. He’s got five-star quarterbacks. But he’s going to need to beat Michigan in Ann Arbor and he’s going to need to get to the playoffs again and do something other than lose.”