"That's hard" - When Ryan Day opened up on the "enormous" expectation of replacing Urban Meyer as Ohio State HC

After two seasons in the offensive coordinator role, Ryan Day was promoted to the head coaching role at Ohio State in January 2019. In his eight seasons in Columbus, Meyer had transformed the Buckeyes into one of the best college football teams, winning multiple titles.

Meyer's exploits at Ohio State immediately raised the expectations for Day as he took the job. In an interview by Pete Thamel, who was then with Yahoo Sports, ahead of the coach’s first season in May 2019, Day opened up on the realities of the job in Columbus.

“When you become the GM, the head coach and the play caller, that’s hard,” Day said, before he went on to note that: "The expectation of this thing is enormous.”

Ryan Day found a smart way to navigate his new role and the immense workload that came with it. His coaching philosophy centers on empowering assistants and staff with trust and autonomy in their roles, while cultivating a culture of collective responsibility.

“Having the ability to trust the guys that are around you and believe in those guys, and if it fails, we fail,” Day said. “If we win, we all win. And not just, ‘Hey, the gun is pointed at the head coach.’ That's hard and that takes years off your life. “And so we're in this thing together. Our families, our kids, our wives and everybody here. And I think that helps give it some perspective, and you feel less on an island, less isolated that way.”

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Ryan Day disclosed he will be involved in the offense

Ryan Day was hired to replace Urban Meyer despite lacking prior full-time experience as a head coach. This was largely due to his offensive success with the Buckeyes, elevating them to one of the best. Despite giving his assistant freedom, Day noted that he would be involved in the offense.

“One of the things that I take pride in is expertise in quarterback play, the passing game and offensive football,” Day said in the same interview. “And so because of that it would be foolish for me not to be involved. At least in the first year or two. “And so I want to jump in. And then as time goes on, I'd like to step away from that possibly but who knows ... You don't have a handbook on this type of thing.”

Ryan Day had hired Mike Yurcich from Oklahoma State as his offensive coordinator in 2019, but the success he established in the unit needed to continue. Ohio State ranked No. 2 nationally in total offense in 2018, averaging 535.6 yards per game, a significant leap from No. 31 (459.2 yards per game) in 2016 before Day’s arrival.

Edited by Dipayan Moitra