Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day was under a lot of pressure entering the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff.
Despite finishing the regular season with a 10-2 record, Day was sidelined in late November following a four-game losing streak to the Buckeyes' archrival, the Michigan Wolverines.
The disappointing end to an otherwise strong season left Ohio State fans questioning whether Day should be removed from the head coaching position. But Day seems to have put most of those critics to rest by leading the team to an unblemished December and January.
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Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer laughs while answering questions during a press conference at Ohio State University on December 4, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. At a press conference, Meyer announced his retirement and offensive coordinator Ryan Day was named head coach. Next head coach. (Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
The Buckeyes defeated the Tennessee Volunteers in the first round and then the top-seeded Oregon Ducks in the quarterfinals. Ohio State University at the time defeated the Texas Longhorns They advanced to the national championship game in Atlanta in the semifinals, defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 34-23..
Amid the Buckeye faithful's national title celebration, Day's predecessor called out fans who had previously taken to social media to express their dissatisfaction with the program's current head coach. Urban Meyer, who was Ohio State's head coach from 2012 to 2018, called fans who previously criticized Day on social media “stupid.”
Ohio State's Emeka Egbuka reflects on how the Buckeyes bounced back from the loss at Michigan to win the national championship.
“I've been coaching for a long time and I got a lot out of Coach's Day and the pressure of coaching at a place like Ohio State,” Meyer said on a recent appearance on the show.triple option“Podcasts.” commented that that doesn't change. Things have to change and what has changed are the idiots on social media who don't sign their names. ”
Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day looks on after defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the College Football Playoff championship game Monday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. . (Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
The reaction to the loss to Michigan prompted Day to hire a security guard to protect his home. Meyer also said the poor treatment Day's children received while attending the school was “excessive.”
“Once you start involving your family, you push yourself too hard.” Meyer added:. “When you boo because you don't get a first down and you lose to your rival, that's part of the game. It's all fair. But you have to make sure you don't put your family through that.”
Meyer then compared Day's situation to one he faced during his coaching days at Florida.
Urban Meyer will be watching Monday at the CFP National Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. (Mark J. Revilas-Imagen Images)
“The first time [went] To Florida, you know what they wanted. [Steve] Spurrier. I want Spurrier too. He won the Heisman Trophy there and won a national championship there,” Meyer said. [Washington] Redskins, he was fired and left. He was free. Contingencies wanted him back, so they hired me from Utah.
“I didn't really understand the dynamics until I got there. And once I got there, I'll never forget — he goes to South Carolina — we lose to South Carolina, but that doesn't happen in Florida. No. I walked in. I was a stranger in a strange place in the South doing a radio show, and I thought they were going to boo me. “
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Meyer and Day have a history, with the latter serving as offensive coordinator under the former from 2017 to 2018. Meyer retired after the 2018 season, and Day was later introduced as Ohio State's next head coach.
Meyer led the Buckeyes to the national title following the 2014 regular season and made Ohio State the winner of the inaugural College Football Playoff. Ten years later, Day brought them back to the mountaintop.
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