Nick Saban defends Ryan Day, advises Ohio State fans to 'appreciate' roster he built
There is a portion of the Ohio State fanbase that is frustrated with Ryan Day and his lack of success in big games, particularly against Michigan. There is even talk that Day could be on the hot seat if the Buckeyes don’t live up to expectations this fall.
Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban joined The Pat McAfee Show on Friday and warned that Ohio State fans shouldn’t take Day for granted.
“Look, I’ve lived this life for 17 years. For 15 years we were expected to win every game. And so it’s hard for me to take the position to put that kind of pressure and expectation on any coach, Ryan Day included, because you never know what’s going to happen,” Saban said. “You don’t know if the quarterback’s going to get hurt. You don’t know if you’re going to lose the corners on defense, you can’t cover anybody. So you have to be able to improvise and adjust and do the best you can. I personally think Ryan Day’s a really good coach.”
Ryan Day has a 56-8 record at Ohio State, including a 39-3 mark in the Big Ten. However, each of his three Big Ten losses were against rival Michigan, including last year’s as the Wolverines went on to win the national title.
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Day has reached a national title game but has yet to win a national championship at Ohio State. Still, Saban believes one could be coming for the Buckeyes down the line.
“I’m a process-oriented guy. … So you keep thinking about what you have to do to get the result, not be a fan and say ‘If you don’t get the result we’re going to fire you,’” Saban said. “That’s hard for me to do, because I have too much respect for coaches, what they do to build a program.”
Part of the reason there’s perceived to be added pressure on Ryan Day this year is the fact that he has such a loaded roster. But as Saban pointed out, Day is the coach responsible for bringing all of the talent to Columbus.
He believes that Ohio State fans need to appreciate what they have in Ryan Day.
“You know, if he has the best roster, who got the roster there? Who’s responsible to get them there? He got them there. So that counts for something. Who’s responsible for that? Somebody got them there,” Saban said. “So that means something. So the fans should appreciate the fact that they have one of the best teams in the country, and they do their part to be positive to cheer the guy on in a positive way and create a lot of positive energy.”
Saban knows what it’s like to be under severe pressure every week, knowing that fans will be upset if you drop a game.
He believes that it’s important for Day to not let the pressure get to him or the Ohio State players.
“It’s a lot more fun when you just get your players to go out and compete and play the best that they can play and enjoy the fact that they are doing that. Because when you get out of that mode then you put pressure on yourself, it creates anxiety, you make bad decisions and that’s not good,” Saban said. “So you’ve got to stay out of that world. … These expectations that you’re putting on Ohio State is not going to help them win. It’s not going to help the players and it’s not going to help their coach.”