HC Ryan Day (2019 B1G Media COY)

[Captain Buckeye]

An Earl Bruce type Ohio guy who gets the rivalry and wins it a majority of the time but loses 3 games a year is a disaster because that means he's missing the playoffs almost every year.

As for yesterday, that might be the worst gameplan I've ever seen. We have an offensive line held together by duct tape, and they have two 1st round DT's, so we run a plan based on runs up the middle? That wasn't coaching. That was Day's ego and need to prove something being put ahead of everything else. Should he go? If there was a clear path forward, I'd say yes. But given I don't see any clear successors and the possibility of losing our current talent and recruiting class and engaging in a full scale rebuild, I don't think so.

Yeah that has to be the way forward… if we have a strong HC coming in then great. Specially someone who gets the toughness and the rivalry game that needs to be a priority.

But I suppose blowing it up just because is probably not the right idea.

There are a number of coaches I think would be better in the games that matter though.

What does that refer to?

I guess parents were at each others throats after the game.

 

[RuGettinIt]

So Tressel was only good enough to win an NC because of Cooper? Day's early success had little to do with Meyer's players.

Not sure what you’re trying to point out here. There was nothing regarding Cooper/Tressel.

My comment had to do with the change in philosophy and player mentality as players in Urban's program transitioned out and it fully became players that came in post Urban.

 

[RuGettinIt]

The classes have been very similar to Urbans with one exception. UFM needed those players in the trenches and Ryan Day stressed the skill players. You add in the change of aggressiveness and this is what you get.

Btw, Austin Ward confirmed on a podcast that parents of players were getting after it after the game. Not great situation at all.

Urban and Ryan have a different mentality and approach to handling players.

 

[Captain Buckeye]

Urban and Ryan have a different mentality and approach to handling players.

Right and that’s why I think Ryan has to go… we need a coach who is confident, who knows he’s tough (doesn’t need to talk about it all the damn time), and isn’t afraid to hurt people’s feelings if it means it’ll better the team.

 

[Jaxbuck]

Coach Day produced the best offense in college football from 2017-2022. Made a bad hire in Kerry which set the defense back which lagged the defense behind for two seasons.

We were robbed vs Clemson in 2019 and got to the finals in 2020. Then the 2021 loss happened and he fell apart.

He was the right person for the job and then he changed. He tried to be something he’s not and that’s ok.

He produced great offenses when he was in his element, QB's and passing game. That is exactly my point, he was promoted out of it and into water that's too deep for him to swim in.

2019 and 2020 showed the same pattern he continues to show, just different players.

 

[DaveyBoy]

Right and that’s why I think Ryan has to go… we need a coach who is confident, who knows he’s tough (doesn’t need to talk about it all the damn time), and isn’t afraid to hurt people’s feelings if it means it’ll better the team.

That’s why I think we have to look at these possible scenarios:

1. NFL superstar route (Deion Sanders) - instant talent influx and potentially very good with the right coordinators. Lotsa culture changes but if it wins big then so be it. The Woody/Earle/Tressel era is gone. The only guys I can think of would be Eddie George or Vrabel (see below)

2. Promote within - unfortunately, no HC experience within. Non-starter.

3. Vrabel - the obvious choice because of his playing resume plus his coaching resume. I don’t think he wants it or would stay for the long haul. And I’m not sure he could retain Hartline or JL and we would be competing in a world which needs great QB and WR play.

4. Rising star young coach with Ohio ties - I don’t know of anyone except Candle, Freeman, Campbell.

5. National recruiting search to find the right candidate - could end up being one of the guys mentioned above anyway


I’m with #4 - in order I would want: Freeman, Campbell, Candle…..possibly swapping Candle and Campbell. I doubt Freeman would leave ND now. So Candle or Campbell would be on the very short list of candidates. After that I’m sure Bjork would have some names we didn’t think of. But I do think Hartline and JL are worth building around due to their track record of recruiting success.

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

I honestly don't think Freeman would be interested. I don't think his stupid comments disqualify him, but I don't think he'd want it. ND is going to open up the bank for him after this year, and he'll have at least a few years of solid job security.. He seems to like it there also. Why walk into a complete rebuild for equal money?

I'm of the opinion to keep Day for now, while seeing how Eddie George progresses. If, however, everyone hits the portal and the recruiting class blows up then what the hell. Nothing to lose in making the change now.

One other name is Odom at UNLV. Relatively young guy who's turned a historic dumpster fire into a team that might sneak into the playoffs.

 

[bigdog3300]

This job has to be the most attractive in the country, no? Better than Bama was for DeBoer, imo.
The majority of HCs are offensive minded, so you have Knowles already set if you want. You have OSU alums, and elite recruiters, in Hartline and Laurinaitis, likely wanting to stay on board. You have some solid position coaches in Walton, Guerreri, Bailey. You have good bones on staff already. You have talent through and through, NIL funding, great facilities, etc.

As much as we want Day gone, he has not run this program into the ground like some other coaches have at other blue bloods - like Mack Brown did, like Rich Rod/Hoke, like Helton did, etc. etc.

 

[1926Buckeyes]

Not sure what you’re trying to point out here. There was nothing regarding Cooper/Tressel.

My comment had to do with the change in philosophy and player mentality as players in Urban's program transitioned out and it fully became players that came in post Urban.

Right and Tressel was only competitive on a national stage with Cooper's players. If we're looking at it the same way, as the talent and mentality of Cooper's players filtered out, they were replaced by Tressel's players who got blown out in every big game and could only hang their hat on playing in a bad B10 against some historically bad Michigan teams. I think that's silly though. The whole "relying on a former coaches players" is overused and just a way for fans to rationalize more complex issues.

4. Rising star young coach with Ohio ties - I don’t know of anyone except Candle, Freeman, Campbell.

I’m with #4 - in order I would want: Freeman, Campbell, Candle…..possibly swapping Candle and Campbell. I doubt Freeman would leave ND now. So Candle or Campbell would be on the very short list of candidates. After that I’m sure Bjork would have some names we didn’t think of. But I do think Hartline and JL are worth building around due to their track record of recruiting success.

Freeman is the only real option and he's not leaving. Candle just went 7-5 and pissed himself against fucking Akron. Should OSU go after Moorehead too? If Campbell wasn't an "Ohio guy" no one would take that suggestion seriously.

Unless they miraculously win an NC, I don't want Day back because I'm tired of having the same arguments about mentality and body language and the same shit while ending up disappointed. Every loss is compounded by postgame misery. If they could, I'd have OSU go out and grab Ben Johnson from the Lions, but he'll be an NFL HC next year.

The most frustrating thing, though, is listening to a miserable fanbase that knows nothing but 10 win seasons act like they'll totally accept the risk of making a change for the sake of change when we know the only real expectations will continue to be 11+ win seasons, only wins vs Michigan, and an NC every 3-5 years.

It wasn't hard to fire Cooper when he only had 5 10 win seasons sandwiched between 7 8 win seasons. After he and Bruce there wasn't much to lose. Now there's the 25 best years since Woody (arguably more consistency even) riding on this hire. I'm not hanging that to an ok MAC coach or a guy still figuring things out in the B12. This needs to be a great hire.

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

This job has to be the most attractive in the country, no? Better than Bama was for DeBoer, imo.
The majority of HCs are offensive minded, so you have Knowles already set if you want. You have OSU alums, and elite recruiters, in Hartline and Laurinaitis, likely wanting to stay on board. You have some solid position coaches in Walton, Guerreri, Bailey. You have good bones on staff already. You have talent through and through, NIL funding, great facilities, etc.

As much as we want Day gone, he has not run this program into the ground like some other coaches have at other blue bloods - like Mack Brown did, like Rich Rod/Hoke, like Helton did, etc. etc.

Like Harbaugh was in the process of doing until the most extensive on-field cheating operation in sports history dropped into his lap.

 

[brodybuck21]

He produced great offenses when he was in his element, QB's and passing game. That is exactly my point, he was promoted out of it and into water that's too deep for him to swim in.

2019 and 2020 showed the same pattern he continues to show, just different players.

It's literally like going to see the same movie repeatedly and expecting a different outcome. Insanity

 

[Honor&Glory]

I honestly don't think Freeman would be interested. I don't think his stupid comments disqualify him, but I don't think he'd want it. ND is going to open up the bank for him after this year, and he'll have at least a few years of solid job security.. He seems to like it there also. Why walk into a complete rebuild for equal money?

I'm of the opinion to keep Day for now, while seeing how Eddie George progresses. If, however, everyone hits the portal and the recruiting class blows up then what the hell. Nothing to lose in making the change now.

One other name is Odom at UNLV. Relatively young guy who's turned a historic dumpster fire into a team that might sneak into the playoffs.

Did I see Peter Schrager say he’s hearing Freeman’s name on a want list for the Bears job?

 

[Mike80]

The most frustrating thing, though, is listening to a miserable fanbase that knows nothing but 10 win seasons act like they'll totally accept the risk of making a change for the sake of change when we know the only real expectations will continue to be 11+ win seasons, only wins vs Michigan, and an NC every 3-5 years.

Case in point: Nebraska when they fired Pelini. While not on the level as a program that Ohio State is, they were a consistent 9 win team with him. They thought they could be better than that, and fired him. They've been wandering in the woods ever since.

Another one we can consider: Oklahoma. They are a similar stature, had a great 20 years of success but Stoops retired. They hired the wrong guy and it has all unraveled in essentially 2 seasons.

The more I think about it - really probably the more time that passes from the game yesterday - the more I think Day is here at least another season if not through the end of his contract unless the bottom really falls out. Recruits want stability and there isn't much doubt the players love Day. Everyone who comes in contact with Day will tell you how awesome of a person he is - parents, recruits, players - they all love that.

That may be some of the issue here - they love him more than the players loved a coach like UFM or even Tressel. There has to be a healthy amount of fear that a coach will hold you accountable, I don't know if that is there with Day. Everyone has their traits.

Another issue that's been mentioned a few times - the landscape of college football has changed drastically in the space of 25 years. We went from a guaranteed 1 vs 2 BCS matchup, to the CFP top 4 to now a 12 team playoff.

A 10-2 Ohio State team is in the CFP every season. Point blank. Brand matters. Consistency matters. Sad as it is for a lot of people, The Game just doesn't have that same impact it once did in a 10 game season, 1 bowl only season. I think that will factor into the consideration as well.

 

[jwinslow]

There's also the matter that the greatest year 1-5 coach in CFB history, Urban Meyer, is not quite good enough for OSU standards, especially if he's not facing a deeply flawed big ten (which Day and his replacement will not be).

He was perfect against a bad Michigan program and that covered a lot of warts.

Urban is not Nick, but was clearly #2 behind him by a significant margin (ahead of Kirby). And the cart not only lost a few wheels, it careened off a cliff down the stretch of Urban's tenure.

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

I think he's here no matter what, so I'm not going to stress it anymore. Only thing that might dislodge him is a real embarrassing blowout loss at home in the cfp.

I know people have conveniently forgotten about the cheating now that it doesn't fit their narrative, but let's wait and see how legit two or three of those tcun losses really were.