Ryan Day Stands Out Among His Predecessors

As the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes, Ryan Day is held to quite a lofty standard. In the history of the Ohio State program, there have been a number of incredible coaches come through. Since 1951, the Buckeyes have had just six full-time head coaches, with one season-long interim in 2011, and one one-game interim in 2020.

Now, with seven seasons under his belt, Day has tied his immediate predecessor in seniority. Each of those six full-time coaches served at least seven seasons, with the longest being the impressive 28-year-long tenure of the widely-considered greatest coach in program history.

So, because it’s the off-season and we have time to kill, let’s take a look at the job Day has done compared to the first seven seasons of Urban Meyer, John Cooper, Earle Bruce, and Woody Hayes.

Ryan Day Stands Out Among His Predecessors

Every full-time head coach at Ohio State before Day since 1947 (Wesley Fessler) is enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. No other program can make that claim, so Ohio State and its fans have a certain expectation for the program and those who lead it.

In terms of raw numbers, Day is right there with every coach. When looking at the first seven full seasons for each coach, Day has a few areas where he stands out, with a few other areas that need improvement.

So, to look at this, we took each coach’s overall record, record vs. Michigan, record in the NY6 and CFP (and Rose Bowls for the older coaches), total Big Ten titles, total National Championship, consensus All-Americans, total NFL Draft picks, and total first-round draft picks.

An Impressive Resume

Day’s overall record is impressive, but it does fall short of Meyer’s incredible run. Plus, the fact that Day has made the CFP in five of his seven seasons at the helm is not anything to scoff at. Last year, he joined Meyer, Tressel, and Hayes with a title in his first seven seasons (technically, it was his sixth, and Hayes’s second came in his seventh).

Where he needs work is the record against Michigan and the number of Big Ten titles. Most years, beating Michigan leads to a Big Ten title, or, at the very least, a shot at it. That three-year losing streak was tacked on to the 2020 season with no game, making it look even worse. He is often compared to Cooper for his struggles against The Team Up North. Until Day gets back to Tressel and Meyer-level dominance, it’s going to be difficult to shake that.

Where Day Wins The Day

There is one area that Day has dominated: his team’s talent. While it could be argued that he picked up where Meyer left off, other programs have dropped off after their legends left; Ohio State has not missed a beat. With the 2026 NFL Draft under two months away, Day will take the lead in total players drafted and in first-rounders, presumably.

His 14 consensus All-Americans mark has no peer, that’s for sure.

In every single year of Day’s tenure, Ohio State has been in the conversation for a title. For as frustrating as some have been with the four consecutive two-loss seasons, three came in a bowl, while two were in the CFP. Some programs yearn to be good enough to just be in the conversation year-over-year. For Day and Ohio State, just getting there is good, but not good enough.

What If

The toxicity surrounding Day within the Ohio State fan base could power entire countries. Imagine for a second if social media were as prevalent during the Tressel, Cooper, Bruce, or Hayes eras.

Cooper started his Ohio State career 1-5-1 against Michigan and managed to lose fewer than three games just once. Imagine if the Buckeyes fired Cooper after the 1994 season, kneeling to public pressure. Cooper’s next four seasons were his best, going 43-7. Of course, in those years, he went 1-3 against Michigan, derailing any real National Title hopes, like in 1995 and 1996, when the Buckeyes lost to Michigan as the number-two team in the country. Not to mention the 1997 team was fourth at the time of the loss.

If Ohio State had fired Cooper, would it have landed Tressel? Tressel only lasted three more seasons after his seventh. His sixth and seventh seasons were those infamous BCS National Championship Game losses. After that, his teams were successful, to a point, but they didn’t get back to number one until 2010…and then it all came crashing down. The Buckeyes self-vacated all 12 wins from that year due to the most egregious rule-breaking in the history of college football, and Tressel resigned.

Tressel was likely on the back-end of his coaching career, so even if the Earth-shattering scandal of players selling personal property for tattoos hadn’t happened, Ohio State might have still stumbled upon Meyer after the 2011 season.

What Does The Future Hold?

In reality, Day’s time at Ohio State will come of his own volition. If he survives three consecutive losses to Michigan, it will be difficult to move on from him, especially if Ohio State continues to compete for Big Ten and National Championships. His teams continue to be among the elites of college football in a way Ohio State hasn’t had. Sure, there is the caveat that the expanded CFP helps, but there are some blueblood programs that haven’t made it in the 12-team era.

Will he make it 28 years like Hayes, whose tenure ended because he punched an opponent? Unless he gets tired of NIL, the portal, and the year-over-year “title or bust” expectations, Day is here to stay.

Ohio State is better off that way. Because getting antsy and letting a coach go while failing to bring in a good replacement is how programs fall off the face of the Earth.