On the same day Jim Harbaugh decided to stay at Michigan, Ryan Day also reaffirmed his commitment to Ohio State.
While Harbaugh seriously considered making the leap to the NFL, interviewing with the Minnesota Vikings on Wednesday before informing Michigan he would return, Day – who has also been viewed as a prospective NFL head coach – made it clear during a Wednesday interview with Big Ten Network that he has no intention of leaving Ohio State any time soon.
“In this profession, in this world right now, if you're not winning, they're going to talk about replacing you. If you do well, they're going to talk about maybe you going somewhere else,” Day said. “So there's always going to be talk like that. I love Ohio State. I love this place. My family loves it here. I tell recruits all the time, if I was to go take another job, I'd be going by myself because my family's not leaving Columbus. And that's the truth. They love it here.”
While it remains uncertain whether Day will receive a raise and a contract extension this offseason, he thanked Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith, university president Kristina Johnson and the Board of Trustees on Monday for the financial investments they’ve made into the program, including paying $1.9 million to hire Jim Knowles as defensive coordinator.
“I thank Gene Smith for allowing me to go get the best,” Day said Monday. “He never asked a question on it. He said just, ‘You go get whoever you think is the best defensive coordinator for Ohio State this year,’ and didn’t ask any questions in that area and allowed me to go do that. So really appreciate him, President Johnson and the board for allowing me to do that, because that’s not the case at most places.”
Even after a more challenging season in 2021 in which he lost his first two regular-season games and missed the College Football Playoff for the first time as a head coach, Day still believes being Ohio State’s head coach is the best job he could ask for.
“We're very proud of our culture. And guys like to be here. And we think that we've recruited really well,” Day said. “We have some really good talent, so the future is extremely bright here. We’ve brought in great people. So this is the best place in the country to be the head football coach. I love it here.”
