Since late July, Ohio State has spent most of its days in the headlines. Coach Meyer was suspended and Ryan Day was asked to fill in as the interim head coach. During Coach Day’s head coaching tenure, he lead the Buckeyes to a record of 3-0 including a win on the road to then #15 ranked TCU. Not only did Day and the Buckeyes start the season undefeated, the football program also won its 900th game with a victory over Rutgers in week 2. Ohio State now stands with a handful of elite FBS schools with over 900 wins. All these points have made recent headlines, but the most recent headline would be Ohio State announcing the possibility of naming Coach Ryan Day, Head Coach In Waiting.
The concept of naming a “Head Coach In Waiting” is not new, but is one that hasn’t been used as of lately. A few names who were given this title were Jimbo Fisher at Florida State, Will Muschamp at Texas and James Franklin at Maryland. With the exception of Fisher eventually taking over for Bobby Bowden at FSU, the others never panned out. Day has had previous coaching offers including head coaching jobs, coordinator jobs and even an NFL coordinator position, but chose to stay a Buckeye.
Ryan Day is very deserving of a head coach title and it appears OSU isn’t ready to see him head up another program. By naming him Head Coach In Waiting, shows that the Buckeyes are preparing for the departure of Urban Meyer. Meyer’s current contract runs through 2022 and while Buckeye Nation loved what they saw with Day, I don’t think many are ready to see the post-Meyer era in Columbus.
As for Ryan Day and the Buckeyes, he is still the game day play caller. He is still on the sideline and though his head coaching days were limited, he is one of a few former head coaches on the Ohio State staff. Ohio State won’t be out of the headlines anytime soon. They are one of the few programs that have a legitimate chance at a National Championship each year and with Urban Meyer back and Ryan Day calling plays, the Buckeyes are the biggest threat in the Big Ten and a playoff contender.
