Ohio State President: Ryan Day Will Remain HC Despite 3rd Straight Loss to Michigan

Nick Tre. Smith/Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesMost new college presidents likely wouldn’t be asked about the status of the head football coach within the first few minutes of his or her introductory press conference, but that’s life at Ohio State.

And new university president Walter “Ted” Carter was the latest to weigh in on Ryan Day’s job security after the Buckeyes dropped their rivalry game against Michigan for the third straight year.

“I have a great respect for the biggest rivalries that exist in the country,” Carter said, per Colin Gay of the Columbus Dispatch. “As somebody that ran the Naval Academy, the Army/Navy game is as big of a rivalry second to the Ohio State/Michigan rivalry. I think Ryan Day would also say that the goals are to win the Big Ten and win a national championship every year. We didn’t meet that.

“But Ryan Day runs a fantastic program. He’s our coach. I’m proud that he’s our coach. And he will continue to be our coach.”

It is a testament to the high standards at Ohio State that Day’s job security is a major topic even though he has a 56-8 record and three College Football Playoff appearances in five full seasons as the head coach.

Yet the Buckeyes have three primary goals every season: beat Michigan, win the Big Ten and win the national title.

While winning a national title every year is an unrealistic standard for any program, Ohio State is 0-for-9 on those goals the past three seasons. Failing to accomplish any of the objectives for three straight years has dialed up the heat from both inside and outside the fanbase.

Day has also come agonizingly close to winning a national championship multiple times with a title game loss to Alabama in the 2020 season and CFP losses to Clemson and Georgia in the 2019 and 2022 campaigns that included controversial officiating decisions that went against him.

Had a play or two gone a different direction in those moments, the narrative around the head coach could be much different.

Alas, Ohio State is now in a situation where it has fallen behind its primary rival, which is competing for the national championship on Monday night. That is not where it wants to be, and how Day responds in 2024 and perhaps beyond will determine how his tenure is remembered.

Fortunately for Buckeyes fans, he seems to be responding well this offseason.

The Scarlet and Gray have already landed quarterback Will Howard and center Seth McLaughlin in the transfer portal. They have also been heavily connected to Ole Miss transfer running back Quinshon Judkins and brought in a top-five recruiting class, per 247Sports’ composite rankings.

Throw in the returns of Tyleik Williams, Lathan Ransom and Jack Sawyer, and the potential returns of Emeka Egbuka, TreVeyon Henderson, Denzel Burke and JT Tuimoloau, and things are trending in the right direction for the Buckeyes this offseason.

But Day will have to parlay that offseason success into a win over Michigan and a Big Ten title if he wants to feel good about his job security.