*sigh*
This might get fairly long I apologize ahead of time and warn those who don't want to read a page of words. These are all obviously my opinion so have yours or don't doesn't matter.
Bottom line is Ryan Day is not the guy. That, in a nutshell, is my conclusion. Now, let me tell you why.
This is as much about what is coming as what has happened. What has happened is hellish and been screamed and pounded into the air nonstop from the time he stepped on campus. He took over for a guy who NEVER lost to ttun including against the same head coach. We should stop comparing him to that guy because he is not even similar to that guy in any facet.
What has happened is the program has become an NFL breeding ground for future stars. No doubt this is the most ridiculous run of talent tOSU has ever put into the league. We have had the greatest Ohio State QB of all time in the past 4 years and a few other first rounders. Probably the greatest WR but that might be more debatable as well as slew of first rounders that are so good they are taking over the league. We've also had numerous first round OL, DL, DBs go and on and on... They have 1 B1G Championship in a Covid year and a Rose Bowl win. They lost any playoff game they had in that timeframe and couldn't beat ttun which is more egregious. The team was called out for being "soft" in media outlets which were numerous, not just Lou Holtz. The "we are tough" tirade looked like a bunch of bullshit from half the people who saw it and great for team morale by the other half. It proved nothing. The softness wasn't about guys being tough physically and being able to play the game, the softness was the teams' mental approach to the game. Lately that has also been noted and addressed by former players and numerous other folks on this site and others. The leadership on the field improved this year but what about the leadership on the sidelines and from the booth? Brian Hartline has saved this programs bacon for the past 5+ years with his recruiting and player development. I can't look at the staff and say that about anyone else except maybe coach alford but his group can't stay healthy. Day has made changes to the staff but it was like pulling teeth to get that done. I think the Knowles hire was a good one but the personnel management needs to improve greatly. You can't have and exhausted group on the field when the game is on the line late. Play enough players during the year that everyone gets a chance to be on the field when it counts so that this shit doesn't happen!
Day runs the Offense. His play calling is for the most part pitiful and more serious, distracting. If you are worried about calling the right plays you aren't paying close enough attention to what your staff is doing in those situations. You can dictate your strategy on the head set while managing your staff without calling the exact plays. "I want to push the run this series, quarter, half, etc." You better damned well be paying attention to units that keep putting the team in negative situations, i.e. Parker Flemings awful Special Teams!! You can also talk to your players more without calling plays and get their feedback without wasting freaking timeouts. You also need to be putting young guys in the game and play the same playbook so that when your All American's move on you don't have unprepared, inexperienced players trying to win a B1G Championship and beat ttun at the end of the year. There is no development of underclassmen happening outside of practice on this football team right now except when they are forced into the fire due to injury. A ton of credit have to go to coaches Eliano and Walton for having guys ready to step in and ball out like they did for the season. RB's were all ready but for some reason we sat Hayden on the bench all season. Guess what, guys who play at Ohio State aren't going to stay for 4 years if you are doing your job so quit redshirting skill players!! QB? Not so much. WR? Hell who knows outside of Tate. OL? Dont be ridiculous. TE? Looks like guys have their areas of strength and weakness, so use them accordingly. Would have liked to see Thurman maybe try to get out and block on those never ending fucking WR screens being called and see if that monstrosity could get it done. If you are going to keep calling stupid ass plays at least maybe change the personnel so that we can actually see if it's the players or the ignorant play calls/designs. The biggest bright spots have been in the community for this team which are exemplary and not getting into any trouble, which is no small thing.
No B1G Champioship. No win against TTUN. No National Championship. Close doesn't count at Ohio State. Reminds you of someone else for sure.
What is coming is a whole new animal. The staff has rolled with the NIL punches about as well as they could be I'd say. I don't personally believe in buying any players up front but by all means get them as much money as possible once they lose their black stripes and become a real part of the team in Columbus. That may not be how other schools are doing it, but, this isn't other schools. The Portal is absolute chaos and I can guarantee that coaches are using as a Free Agent draft, especially down south. This area is going to have to get better right now if we are going to keep competing for National Championships. Until the rules change, it just is what it is. The biggest change coming up is a 12-team Playoff. 12 teams is embarrassing. A chimpanzee and 3 trained seals could coach the Buckeyes to a 12-team playoff. The talent alone is going to win 10 games even with shit strategies and special teams. And, this is the reason why the "who are you going to get to replace him" argument is no longer a defense for failing. It doesn't really matter who you get as long as Brian Hartline is here and the rest of your staff aren't complete freaking morons. Recruit the talent here and unleash it. There are only really 2 games a year in Columbus right now; Penn State and TUN. If you lose the other conference games right now you should be immediately fired because they aren't very good. Fick and Rhule may change some of that and the West Coasters might bring some better teams in so that's still to be determined. 10-2 and sometimes, 9-3 are going to make the college football playoff in the future. Our worst coach percentage-wise in the last 50 years, Coach Bruce, won 9 games by getting out of bed but he beat ttun 5 times while only losing it 4 times. Ryan Day is one loss away from that total, IN A ROW!
Next season is going to see a completely overhauled Defensive personnel from the best Defense we've had in a long time, though they still underachieved. The best combo of WR's in the country is gone as well as the best back on the roster, so actually being better than this year is doubtful. Unless they completely collapse, the team will make the playoff. Will they beat ttun? Who knows with this current staff but it doesn't look good from the current perspective. The Game will never be the same again with one big conference and the date of the game likely changing in the future. The importance of it will be diminished, no matter how much we still want to kill those fuckers. Now, it's literally possible to play this game 3 times in one season though it would take some exact scenarios. 3 times!! Could your heart take 3 losses to ttun in one season? I know for a fact that mine would not.
He's not the guy. He's proven it. He's shown his weaknesses and one of them is adjusting to make up for his weaknesses. That isn't going to change. He is a good coordinator but a bad motivator and developer. He is also a bad manager from what he's shown so far. Will Ohio State get someone of equal ability if they fire him and get another coach? That can't be known but, at this point, is that what you really want?
I do not. Hoping this will be the last I respond on the subject.