Ohio State coach Ryan Day has been in the headlines after the Buckeyes’ 24-14 loss to the Miami Hurricanes in the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Eve. The defending champions faltered offensively after Day took over the play-calling reins after former offensive coordinator Brian Hartline was hired as head coach by the South Florida Bulls.
Urban Meyer Backs Ryan Day After Playcalling Debacle
Day has been criticized in many quarters for the Buckeyes’ blanking in the first half of the Cotton Bowl, where they only managed 154 total yards of offense in the face of a sturdy Miami defense. During Monday’s segment of the “Triple Option” podcast, former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer backed Day’s decision to call plays against the Hurricanes.
“I’m one of those guys that believes that the play caller is a little bit and I say this because it is a very serious position. When I was a head coach, who called the plays, the head coach is gonna be involved in every play,” Meyer said. “Here’s the issue, you got your ass kicked at the line of scrimmage the last two games.
“There’s never a play when you’re an offensive coach that the head coach will not say, for example, Ryan Day’s my coordinator, Dan Mullen back in the day, I’d say, ‘Take a shot here.’ Or I’d hear something and say, ‘No, no. Run the ball.’ Who’s calling plays at that point, I think it’s important but I think at times it’s a little bit overrated as well.”
Day was the Buckeyes’ offensive coordinator under Meyer in 2018, before being promoted to the program’s head coach. Day called plays for Ohio State between 2019 and 2023 before relinquishing the reins to Chip Kelly last year, who helped to orchestrate one of the country’s most explosive offenses as they won the national championship.
Day Takes Blame for Buckeyes’ Offensive Struggles
Despite struggling to generate any momentum against the Hurricanes, according to PFSN’s Offense Impact Score, Day’s Buckeyes had a 91.7 grade, which ranked them No. 2 in the country.
During his postgame news conference after the loss to Miami, Day took the blame for his team’s offensive struggles in the Cotton Bowl.
“We worked really hard to come out of the gates and win the first quarter, win the first half and be ready to go,” Day said. “I thought we had an excellent plan. But at the end of the day, we didn’t get it done. That starts with me.”
After disappointing offensive performances by the Buckeyes in both the Big Ten championship game against the Indiana Hoosiers and the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff against Miami, Day will be on the hunt for a new offensive coordinator once again.
