COLUMBUS, Ohio app Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork said Thursday that he is appabsolutelyapp confident that Ryan Day will be back as football coach in 2025.
Calls to fire the sixth-year coach rose among Ohio State fans after the Buckeyes lost to Michigan for the fourth straight year. Bjork, in an interview on 97.1 The Fan, said Day is the man for the job, regardless of how the Buckeyes perform in the College Football Playoff. They host Tennessee in a first-round game Dec. 21.
appCoach Day is awesome,app said Bjork, who came from Texas A&M to replace the retiring Gene Smith last summer. appHeapps great to work with. He totally gets it. He loves being a Buckeye. So, weappre going to support him at the highest level.app
The to Michigan followed by an put the coach in a precarious spot. He and his team were booed off the field by the home fans. Bjork ended up releasing a statement expressing his support for the coach.
appThe reason we had to say something after (the Michigan) game is, weappre still breathing, weappre still alive,app Bjork said. appThe seasonapps not over. The book is not closed.app
Thanks to the playoff, Day has a chance to redeem himself with Ohio State's huge fanbase with a win against the Volunteers app and perhaps more in the 12-team tournament.
Regardless of what happens, Day will be back next year, according to Bjork.
appCoach Day and I just hit it off so well,app Bjork said. appI've been really, really impressed. Every single time I talked to him, I learn something. He's innovative. He recruits at the highest level. He's got a great staff.app
Day wouldnappt directly address his job status last weekend.
appWhen you first come off those types of things, thereapps a lot of emotion,app he said, referring to the Michigan loss. appAnd then as time goes on, youappve got to get refocused because you know what youappve done in the past does not affect whatapps going on moving forward. Everything is out in front of us.app
Failing to consistently beat Michigan is one of the few flaws in Dayapps coaching record. Hired as a member of coach Urban Meyerapps staff in 2017, Day was the hand-picked successor when Meyer retired after the 2018 season. Compiling an overall 66-10 record, he is widely admired in the coaching community.
appGreat respect for what heapps done in his coaching career, what heapps done there at Ohio State and the success that theyappve had year-in and year-out,app Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said.
Day is in trouble now because losing The Game is considered an unforgiveable sin by Buckeyes fans.
appWhat we have to do is this whole appchampionship or bustapp mentality, you want that as the goal, but it has to be about the process,app Bjork said. "To me, weappve got to maybe change some conversations a little bit. I think we need to maybe just approach things a little bit differently.app
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