Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day was under intense pressure entering the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff, despite ending the regular season with a 10-2 record. A fourth consecutive loss to Michigan, the Buckeyes’ top rival, sparked criticism from fans, with some calling for Day’s removal as head coach. However, Day silenced his critics by guiding the team to an unblemished December and January, including a national championship victory over Notre Dame.
Day’s predecessor, Urban Meyer, weighed in on the situation, describing fans who criticized Day on social media as “idiots.” Meyer, who coached Ohio State from 2012-2018, noted that the pressures of coaching at Ohio State would not change, but that fans needed to stop involving Day’s family in their criticism.
Meyer also shared his own experience with criticism, recalling his time at Florida, where he was booed by fans despite being 7-2 at the time. He compared Day’s situation to his own, saying that he was hired as Ohio State’s head coach after the departure of Steve Spurrier.
Day’s situation was also compared to Meyer’s own coaching tenure at Florida, where he was hired after Spurrier’s departure. Meyer won a national title with Ohio State in 2014, and Day has now repeated that feat a decade later.
