Ryan Day's potential next head coaching stops

The heat is on Ryan Day in Columbus as he is now 1-7 against top five opponents. This includes a 1-3 record against the Buckeyes’ arch rival, Michigan Wolverines and a loss this past week which was viewed by many as poor game and clock management against the Oregon Ducks.

Day has an 87% winning percentage during his time as head coach of the Buckeyes to go along with a recruiting class ranking that is in the top five nationally each year. However, he has yet to win a national championship which is something that two of his predecessors, Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer both accomplished during their time at the helm.

Although many do not feel firing Day at any point is justified, the Buckeyes may not have to. The alternative at play here is that Day leaves Ohio State on his own accord due to not being fully embraced by the fan base after losing big games. This is a tough call given that the Buckeyes have an NIL payroll that is presumed to be around $20 million but a program that is ranked as one of the top teams in the country year over year.

Whatever side one is on, the reality is that coaches do make their own decisions. And if a fan base is putting what Day feels is unwarranted pressure on him, he could opt to part on his own for another job. And you would be hard-pressed to find any schools that would not take him should they have an opening.

Four potential landing spots for Ryan Day if he leaves Ohio State

On the surface, one would think that this would most likely be at least a few years away, as the Crimson Tide are under first-year head coach Kalen DeBoer. And it would if the Tide regressed to a point where they had to fire DeBoer. The situation in Tuscaloosa however could prove very similar to the one in Columbus.

Although the Tide have started the 2024 season 5-1, the past few weeks have been a struggle for the Tide under DeBoer, including a defeat at the hands of the Vanderbilt Commodores which was the first for the school since 1984.

If DeBoer continues to feel the heat in Tuscaloosa following the greatest coach of all time in Nick Saban, he could be gone as quickly as he came opting to bolt for the NFL.

If this happens, do not be surprised if Day were offered the job. He has proven that he is one of the top coaches in college football, and would be in an even more fertile recruiting ground in the state of Alabama with four and five stars as his disposal to go along with an endless number of resources.

Lincoln Riley is in his third season as the head coach of the USC Trojans. After an 11-3 season in 2022, the Trojans regressed last year to 8-5 and are only sitting at 3-3 this year.

Although the thought is that Riley would get one more year after this one to trend the Trojans back upward, there is a chance that the Trojans do so poorly the last part of this season that he is ousted at the end of the year. There is also the scenario like DeBoer where Riley darts for the NFL.

We have previously seen with Riley when he left Oklahoma that he has no shame in leaving a program high and dry.

Moving across the country would be a totally different geographic territory of recruiting for Day, but the Trojans are a prestigious FBS football program that could put up the money to lure the coach out west. The ability to return a program to levels of greatness that it has not seen since the early 2000’s under Pete Carroll may be an attractive opportunity to Day.

Also, let us be honest; while there is pressure to perform in Los Angeles, it is nothing like the pressure that exists in Columbus.

Current head coach Billy Napier is squarely on the hot seat in Gainesville. After failing to go bowling last year and going under .500 in his first two seasons, this would be a fairly easy split for the Gators to part ways with Napier who currently sits at 3-3 in his third season.

Although things seem to be trending slightly upward for the Gators at the moment, the school of thought from many is that too much damage has been done by Napier and it is only a matter of time.

If Day was able to get an SEC job in one of the biggest recruiting hot beds in the country in Florida, the entire country better watch out. The coach that is winning 11-plus games each year in Columbus could do even more damage.

Head coach Hugh Freeze most likely is not going anywhere for at least another season. After going 6-7 in his first season on the Plains, the Tigers currently sit at 2-4 under Freeze which is a start many did not see coming.

If this trend continues into year three, the seat in Auburn would most likely be open. And you could bet anything they would pay whatever it takes to get someone like Day in town to have the best chance at beating the in-state rival Alabama Crimson Tide annually and return to national relevance.