No college football coach gets fired after winning 89 percent of his games over five years. Ohio State coach Ryan Day is unlikely to be the first. But on Saturday, Day lost for the third year in a row to Michigan, in the rivalry game to end all rivalry games. The Wolverines’ leader was assistant Sherrone Moore, who put on the big headset on game day because his boss, Jim Harbaugh, was serving a Big Ten suspension.
With two more or less equally talented teams on the field, Moore outcoached Day. Day didn’t commit any cataclysmic errors, but he was nonaggressive on a pair of critical fourth-down calls, and his conservatism broke against Ohio State both times. Day opted to punt on a fourth-and-1 opportunity at Ohio State’s 46, and his punter biffed a 33-yard duck that didn’t get inside the 20-yard line. Later, just before halftime, the coach opted for a field goal on fourth-and-2 at Michigan’s 34-yard line. The ensuing 52-yard attempt was longer than Buckeye kicker Jayden Fielding’s career long of 47, and he missed wide left. Ohio State didn’t try a fourth-down conversion the whole game. Moore had Michigan attempt three—and the Wolverines converted them all en route to two touchdowns. Moore is also Michigan’s offensive coordinator and dialed up the best schematic moment of the game, a 34-yard pass from his running back to his tight end that set up another field goal.
Day is the head coach of the most naturally advantaged program in college football. You—yes, you personally—would coach Ohio State to at least a solid bowl game if given the head coaching job. Gravity dictates that Ohio State will eternally recruit one of the best rosters in the country, no matter what. (The Buckeyes have the benefit of being the one inevitable program in a state with a lot of good high school players and being an iconic national brand that can go into high schools in Florida, Texas, and wherever else and leave with future NFL stars.) But on Saturday, after two years of blowouts, Day lost a different way: The guy on the other sideline, who has sparse head coaching experience and was doing the job only because his boss wasn’t allowed inside the stadium, outmaneuvered him all afternoon. The final score: 30–24, Michigan. The Wolverines are en route to the College Football Playoff.
Meanwhile, the Buckeyes are in a world of pain. A huge portion of their fans want to be done with Day, who holds the unquestioned title “Most Reviled 56–7 Coach in College Football History.” A representative view came from legendary OSU tailback Maurice Clarett in a series of now-deleted posts on X, which was called Twitter back when Ohio State was beating Michigan every year: “Ryan Day … Love you bro but gotta go,” Clarett said. “This is why you’re paid millions.” He added, “No one cares about beating the BS teams we schedule. We play those teams on purpose to have a good record to get to Michigan and into the playoffs. That’s part of the program. You don’t make 9 million and lose to your rival 3 times in a row.” Day is now 1–3 against the Wolverines.
Day has brought Ohio State to a bizarre place. He’s been Ohio State’s coach for five years. He’s been exceptional even by the Buckeyes’ standards at avoiding disaster against teams outside the program’s weight class. He’s won so, so much. That so many people want him gone anyway is a perfect case study in why college football is a weird sport. And while those fans won’t get their wish unless Day bolts for an unpredictable offer from some NFL team or a very small list of college teams without current openings, they’re not unreasonable at all to dream about it. Day has been the unusual failure who wins damn near every game.
He hasn’t been without his virtues. Day seems, to me, like a great role model by the standards of major college football coaches. He has spoken eloquently and often about the importance of mental health, and he’s supplemented his words with real action when his own players have found themselves in dark places. He has avoided any type of scandal, unlike his predecessor, Urban Meyer, whose resignation came a few months after he’d earned a suspension for empowering an assistant coach who’d been accused of relationship violence. Day has been a worthy representative of his employer. Many winning coaches aren’t.
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