Ryan Day (American football)
Ryan Patrick Day (born March 12, 1979) is an American football coach and former college player. He is the 24th and current head football coach at Ohio State University. He played quarterback and linebacker for the New Hampshire Wildcats from 1998 to 2001 before he began his coaching career in 2002.
 Day during the 2019 Fiesta Bowl. | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Ohio State |
| Conference | Big Ten |
| Record | 23–2 |
| Annual salary | $4.5 million[1] |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | March 12, 1979 Manchester, New Hampshire |
| Playing career | |
| 1998–2001 | New Hampshire |
| Position(s) | Quarterback, linebacker |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2002 | New Hampshire (TE) |
| 2003–2004 | Boston College (GA) |
| 2005 | Florida (GA) |
| 2006 | Temple (WR) |
| 2007–2011 | Boston College (WR) |
| 2012 | Temple (OC/WR) |
| 2013–2014 | Boston College (OC/QB) |
| 2015 | Philadelphia Eagles (QB) |
| 2016 | San Francisco 49ers (QB) |
| 2017 | Ohio State (co-OC/QB) |
| 2018 | Ohio State (acting HC/OC/QB) |
| 2019–present | Ohio State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 23–2 |
| Bowls | 1–2 |
| Tournaments | 1–2 (CFP) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 2 Big Ten (2019–2020) 2 Big Ten East Division (2019–2020) | |
| Awards | |
| Big Ten Coach of the Year (2019) | |
Playing career
Day attended Manchester Central High School in Manchester, New Hampshire.[2] A quarterback and defensive back, he was the state's Gatorade Player of the Year for his senior season.[2] Day attended the University of New Hampshire. Playing for then-offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, Day set four career records at UNH, including completion percentage and touchdowns.[3]
Coaching career
Day was the offensive coordinator for Temple in 2012, as well as the offensive coordinator for Boston College from 2013 to 2014. He was hired as the Philadelphia Eagles' quarterbacks coach on January 22, 2015.[4] Then, in 2016, after his mentor Chip Kelly was relieved of his duties in Philadelphia, Day was hired in the same role by Kelly, who became the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. On January 3, 2017, Day was hired to replace co-offensive coordinator Tim Beck of the Ohio State Buckeyes. After being linked to the Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator position in January 2018, Day was promoted to offensive coordinator and primary playcaller at Ohio State.
On August 1, 2018, he was named acting head coach at Ohio State when head coach Urban Meyer was placed on administrative leave[5] when news came to light of Meyer's knowledge of events surrounding then-fired Zach Smith's domestic violence accusations made by Smith's estranged wife. Day would go on to win all three games during Meyer's absence. On December 4, 2018, Ohio State announced that Meyer would retire as head coach after the 2019 Rose Bowl and be replaced by Day on a full-time basis.[6][7]
In 2019, Day's first season as a full-time head coach, he led the Buckeyes to a perfect 12-0 regular season record, the Buckeyes's first undefeated regular season since 2013. Despite being predicted to finish second in the Big Ten East Division according to the 2019 Cleveland.com preseason poll,[8] the Buckeyes clinched the division following their November 23 victory over rival Penn State, and secured a spot in the Big Ten Championship,[9] which they would go on to win, beating Wisconsin 34-21.[10] The Buckeyes would go on to be the number two seed in the College Football Playoff and would lose to the Clemson Tigers in the Fiesta Bowl. On December 3, 2019, Coach Day was named the Dave McClain Coach of the Year by the media.[11] Day tested positive for COVID-19 on November 27, 2020,[12] and missed the team's December 5 win over Michigan State.[13]
In the 2020 season, Day led the Buckeyes to a perfect regular season record and defeated the Northwestern Wildcats in the Big Ten Championship game, winning the second Big Ten Conference championship of his career as a head coach. On January 1, 2021, The Buckeyes defeated the Clemson Tigers in the Sugar Bowl, advancing to the National Championship game against Alabama. On January 11, the Buckeyes were defeated by Alabama 52-24.
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State Buckeyes (Big Ten Conference) (2018) | |||||||||
| 2018 | Ohio State | 3–0[n 1] | 1–0[n 1] | ||||||
| Ohio State Buckeyes (Big Ten Conference) (2019–present) | |||||||||
| 2019 | Ohio State | 13–1 | 9–0 | 1st (East) | L Fiesta† | 3 | 3 | ||
| 2020 | Ohio State | 7–1 | 5–0 | 1st (East) | W Sugar†, L CFP NCG† | 2 | 2 | ||
| Ohio State: | 23–2 | 15–0 | |||||||
| Total: | 23–2 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Notes
- Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer was placed on administrative leave for the first three games of the 2018 season. Day served as acting head coach in his absence. Ohio State credits the first three games of the season to Day and the remaining 11 games, including the Rose Bowl, to Meyer.
References
- Sutelan, Edward (December 4, 2018). "Football: Ryan Day to make $4.5 million per year over next five years as Ohio State head coach". www.thelantern.com. The Lantern. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
- Coppola, Frank (August 26, 2001). "There is little doubt about Ryan Day's role at UNH". Seacoastonline.com. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
- Shorr-Parks, Eliot (January 23, 2015). "Here is what you need to know about Eagles' new quarterbacks coach Ryan Day". NJ.com. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
- Shorr-Parks, Eliot (January 22, 2015). "Eagles hire Boston College offensive coordinator Ryan Day as quarterback coach". nj.com. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
- Harrish, Kevin (August 1, 2018). "Ryan Day Tabbed Interim Head Coach During Urban Meyer's Paid Administrative Leave". Eleven Warriors. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
- Sallee, Barrett (December 4, 2018). "Ohio State coach Urban Meyer set to announce retirement, Ryan Day to replace him with Buckeyes". cbssports.com. CBS Sports. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- "Ohio State's Urban Meyer retiring; Ryan Day promoted to head coach". The Advocate. Associated Press. December 4, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- https://www.cleveland.com/osu/2019/07/michigan-named-big-ten-football-favorite-in-clevelandcom-2019-preseason-poll.html
- West, Jenna (November 23, 2019). "Ohio State Beats Penn State to Advance to Big Ten Championship Game". Sports Illustrated.
- https://www.10tv.com/article/buckeyes-comeback-beat-wisconsin-34-21-claim-3rd-consecutive-big-ten-title-2019-dec
- "Ryan Day named Big Ten Coach of the Year by conference media". 10tv.com. December 3, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
- Dinich, Heather (November 27, 2020). "Ohio State coach Ryan Day among those in football program to test positive for COVID-19". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
- Rittenberg, Adam (December 5, 2020). "Ohio State coach Ryan Day hopeful that 'worst part is behind us' after COVID-19 issues". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 7, 2020.