Current state of the program: Dayed and Confused
I think it’s fairly obvious what people see in Ryan Day. He’s articulate, has high football concept IQ, and he says all the right things. Unfortunately, actions speak louder than words. He’s not a head coach. That’s ok. There are plenty of former head coaches in OC/DC roles, or even position coach roles. Those coaches have “earned” their positions, and so has Day.
One of my concerns with Day from the outset was his lack of “connections” in college football. I thought he addressed that by keeping Urban’s best and cutting dead weight. In reality, Day’s coaching tree is more like a graveyard.
He’s a really smart, high functioning dumb guy. The problem with this is they think they are the smartest guy in the room (or stadium) even when proven otherwise. You also can’t just fix dumb. There’s no 12 step program. There’s no rehab. I think worst of all it is infectious. Rather than lifting up position coaches, it seems like they have all been stuck in low orbit. If you ask me to recall one offensive highlight from the last 4 years against Michigan, I would have a hard time. Same for defense, outside of Sawyer’s interception on Saturday. Players aren’t making plays. While I think it is up to the players, I think it is influenced by the way they are being coached - scared.
I don’t hate the guy, I just think he should be old fashioned fired. The AD already has a short list because he knew this was a possibility when he was hired. It’s no secret it was Big Ten / National Championship or bust this year. Maybe OSU can wake up out of their Dayze, or maybe they’ll roll out a sequel to last year’s Cotton Bowl vs Missouri. Mind you, we’re less than a year removed from Ohio State’s last worst showing ever, where we (yes, the collective we) were embarrassed and Day and his staff were outcoached by a middle of the road SEC team and coach. They say they want it, but as we’ve learned, words are empty if you don’t know how.