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The 2025 college football season has hit a domino effect. One after the other, head coaches have crumbled like a house of cards under relentless pressure. Brent Pry on September 14, DeShaun Foster on the same day, Mike Gundy on September 23, Sam Pittman on September 28, Trent Bray on October 12, and James Franklin on the same day. So, you can imagine how things have got stirred up. While it has become a trend, Ryan Day finds a big flaw with this and popped up with a stern warning for programs. On October 20, the Ohio State Buckeyes head coach was invited as the guest on Kirk Herbstreit’s podcast. They requested Day to share his take on the recent happenings in the college football scenario, with back-to-back firings. “You know, I don’t have the answer to that, but I do know that anytime you make a change, there’s a lot of things that have to go into play and it takes time,” said Day. After all, who knows it better than him? The Buckeyes had lost only one game last season. But it turned out against their arch rivals, Michigan. And that’s when things turned nasty in the Ohio State camp. Fans dragged Day through the mud. The threats also targeted his wife and son. But Day’s work on and off the field steadied the program. However, not everyone remains blessed to share the same luck. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad For the programs that chooses to walk the risky path, here came a warning from Day, “But all that to be said, yeah, we’re in a day and age where you look at the NFL, I mean, it seems like every year or two a lot of these organizations are flipping coaches over and I guess some of them work out, but many of them are more unstable than they’ve ever been.” Examples? ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad Focusing on NFL, the New England Patriots parted ways with Bill Belichick in 2024. Under new head coach Jerod Mayo, the Patriots matched their AFC-worst 4–13 record from the previous year. Day might have also hinted at New York Jets, who fired their head coach Robert Saleh on October 8, 2024. Even after that, they ended the season with a 5-12 record. Definitely, there are a couple of factors on which head coaching tenure depends. As Day pointed out, the art of recruiting, putting the culture together remains non-negotiable for any coaches. Talking about recruiting? Gundy’s past mistakes are something that Oklahoma State is still paying the price for. As Shayne Trail tweeted, “Oklahoma State (1-4) just announced they will expecting to start senior Sam Jackson at quarterback… only issue is Sam Jackson is a wide receiver.” Gundy did not recruit enough quarterbacks, so now they have to count on Sam Jackson. But as Day points out, it “takes time.” Given his belief, it would be better for programs to stick with their present head coaches instead of taking the risk of recruiting a new one. But how can the head coaches get going in challenging times? Day has shown it. Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad The blessing and the burden of the Buckeye fandom on Ryan Day Talking about playing for a team with most critical fandom? It’s a bittersweet blessing for Day. The Buckeyes fandom, also termed as “lunatic fringe” by Herbstreit, always pushes Day and co. to chase greatness. But that automatically creates a lot of pressure. The Buckeyes had steamrolled Wisconsin in their 0-34 blowout win. Julian Sayin came off as the hero, passing for 393 yards on 36/42 completions, including four touchdowns. But they struggled with the ground game with a lackluster run game, where Day’s running backs averaged just 3.9 yards per carry. That’s when Joel Klatt dropped a hint of what’s waiting for Day and his boys from the fans. “And I know Ohio State fans are going to complain about that because Buckeye fans tend to focus on the areas where they need to get better,” said the analyst. However, it’s from the Buckeyes head coach we must learn to turn our pain to power. Day lost his father, Buddy Ryan in unfortunate circumstances, when the Ohio State head coach was just nine years old. So, with time he has learned to embrace his weakness. And wants his players to do the same. “We have psychiatrists, psychologists, athletic counselors for whatever needs to be put into place,” said Ryan Day. The Ohio State Buckeyes head coach wants to break the taboo on how vulnerability remains unaccepted in the hyper-competitive world of sports. “It’s one of the more masculine things you can do is to show vulnerability,” Day assured. Maybe the college football programs learn to embrace the head coach’s weaknesses and show a bit of patience, than hitting the ‘refresh’ button early. It’s time to safeguard job security, college football fans!
