Ohio State named offensive coordinator Ryan Day interim head football coach on Wednesday.
#OhioState statement on Urban Meyer being suspended
The decision comes following the announcement to place Urban Meyer on paid administrative leave as the school conducts an independent investigation to determine if Meyer knew of domestic violence allegations filed against assistant coach Zach Smith back in 2015.
Here is everything you need to know about Day:
1. Ohio State Promoted Day in 2018
Grateful to be a Buckeye, and so is the family.
Day, who previously served as quarterbacks coach in two seasons for the Buckeyes – including the title of assistant offensive coordinator in 2017-18 – was promoted to full-time offensive coordinator while retaining his quarterbacks coach title in January.
Following the promotion, Day told the university:
“Ohio State is an outstanding place to be a coach, and Columbus is a great city for a young family. I really enjoyed my first season with this program and I’m looking forward to the 2018 season and the opportunity to coach a very talented and hungry group of players.”
2. Day Reportedly Turned Down the Mississippi State Job
Urban Meyer says Ryan Day had an opportunity to be head coach in the SEC but decided to stay at Ohio State. Day was rumored to be a candidate at Mississippi State.
Before Day inked a contract extension with Ohio State, Meyer made note of the fact that Day had the chance to move on:
“Coach Day had an opportunity to potentially be a head coach in the SEC but decided to stay at Ohio State. He’s done a phenomenal job for us. There’s been other coaches on the staff who’ve had opportunities to move on and haven’t. This staff is very strong right now.”
With multiple vacancies open, Sports Illustrated’s Bruce Feldman reported Mississippi State was the school Day turned down. Instead, Mississippi State ended up hiring former Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead to replace Dan Mullen.
3. Ohio State Placed Meyer on Paid Administrative Leave
Text messages I have obtained, an exclusive interview w/the victim & other information I have learned shows Ohio State coach Urban Meyer knew in 2015 of domestic abuse allegations against a member of his coaching staff despite his denial last week
Shortly after the Meyer news spread today, Ohio State moved forward with the decision to place Meyer on paid administrative leave to conduct a proper, internal investigation.
McMurphy revealed (in a detailed August 1 Facebook post) text messages obtained point to the fact Meyer lied last week when he said he had “no knowledge” of the previous Smith allegations during Big Ten Media Days. The direct sources of the text exchanges include Courtney Smith, ex-wife of the Ohio State assistant coach, and Shelley Meyer, Urban’s wife.
4. Day Played Under & Worked as an Assistant for Chip Kelly
Let’s go Tiger!!! Turn it on!!
Day played quarterback for the New Hampshire Wildcats from 1998 to 2001. Following his graduation, he became the tight ends coach for New Hampshire for the first year of his post-college coaching career.
Chip Kelly graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1990; two years later, he became the running backs coach. He moved on to John Hopkins University for one season before returning to New Hampshire in the same capacity from 1994-96. He moved onto offensive line coach in 1997-98 before becoming the offensive coordinator from 1999 until 2006.
The two reunited when Kelly moved to the NFL to become the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 2013-15. In Kelly’s last season, Day served as his quarterbacks coach.
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5. Day Has 16 Years of Experience & Coached Kaepnerick
Including his previously mentioned stops, Day has also coached at Temple, Florida and Boston College, primarily as wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator. His other NFL stop before joining Ohio State was as quarterbacks coach for the San Francisco 49ers in 2016.
Day was the coach for Colin Kaepernick, who became known as the player who took a knee during the National Anthem before a preseason game, sparking a chain of reaction in the NFL that is still relevant today. In the 2017 interview above, Day believes Kaepernick still has the ability and talent to play in the NFL in a system that caters to his strengths.
Despite a 1-10 record in a lost season, Kaepernick finished with a 59.2% completion percentage with 2,241 yards, 16 touchdowns and just four interceptions in Day’s only season in the Bay Area.
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Ryan Day, Ohio State Coach: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know