Maybe more than any other Big Ten fanbase, Nebraska football fans know that if Ryan Day is giving up play calling, it might be the beginning of the end.
Since losing to Michigan earlier this year, Ryan Day has been under fire from Ohio State fans. While I initially laughed off the idea that he might really be on the hot seat, it appears he’s feeling the pressure of not winning on the biggest stage. Any Nebraska football fan who has been paying attention knows that the latest reported move could very well mean that 2023 will be a make-or-break season for Day.
On Tuesday morning, Kirk Herbstreit reported on ESPN’s pre-game show that Day is considering giving up offensive play calling. The analyst went on to explain the Ohio State coach told him in their production meeting that Day was planning on becoming more of a game manager next season.
Those words sound pretty familiar, don’t they? Nebraska football fans heard them right around this time last year. They came from Scott Frost, who was fighting to keep his head coaching job. He repeated them right before the season started.
Here are Kirk Herbstreit’s full comments on Ryan Day potentially giving up play calling next season. https://t.co/0pxLXCoumb pic.twitter.com/EEzK86a8j6
— Paul Harvey 🔨 (@HammerHarvey) January 2, 2023
“I’ve already been thinking a lot about the other things I can add if I don’t have my head buried in a call sheet,” the now-former Nebraska football head coach said in August. “It’ll be a different experience for me, but everybody else is going to be doing what they’ve always done and what they’re good at. I’m going to trust that and try to help where I can with more than one phase.”
There are differences between the Huskers’ and Buckeyes’ situations of course. Frost also cleaned out his offensive coaching staff before the 2021 season was even over. It is unlikely Day will fire anyone off a staff that was a point away from advancing to the College Football Championship game.
Nebraska Football fans can see the writing on the wall
That doesn’t mean the situations aren’t equally dire. While it was bordering on hilarious for people to be calling for Urban Meyer to replace Ryan Day a few months ago, it’s clear that Ohio State fans are not happy with some of their head coach’s decisions. He was under fire again for his playcalling towards the end of the Buckeye’s last drive, once they got into Georgia territory with just seconds to go in the game.
Day appears to be trying to get ahead of the calls for his job. That was certainly what Frost was trying to do with the Nebraska football program. The tactic didn’t work for Frost, as he lasted just three games into the 2022 season before he was fired.
It seems unlikely that Day will get fired midseason in 2023. Ohio State usually has too much talent to get off to the kind of disastrous start the Nebraska football team did this year. But if Buckeyes faithful are unhappy at the way next year plays out, Ryan Day could see himself kicked out of Columbus.