In an interview with the Columbus Dispatch, Ohio State athletics director Ross Bjork showed support for embattled head coach Ryan Day without coming out to definitively state that Day would remain the Buckeyes' head coach in 2025.
“Our full focus right now is on the College Football Playoff and making a strong run,” Bjork told the paper. “We have a ton to play for. We have a great team made up of talented players and great young men. Coach Day does a great job leading our program. He's our coach.”
A lot to unpack there.
Obviously, Ohio State is fully focused on an upcoming College Football Playoff run. The Buckeyes are locks to make the 12-team field and, depending on how this weekend goes, will likely end up between a No. 8 and a No. 10 seed, playing a first-round game against another Power 4 team that did not win its conference. Ohio State could rip off four straight wins and win a national title. Ohio State could also go on the road on Dec. 21 to, say, Tennessee and lose, ending its season before Christmas for the first time since 2012, when probation kept the program out of a bowl game.
That brings to the key phrase in Bjork's answer above: "right now."
At some point between Saturday and Jan. 20 (but likely closer to the former than the latter), Ohio State's season will end, and Bjork must turn his attention to why Ohio State has lost four straight games to Michigan, how to end the streak in 2025, and whether the head coach is a cause of or a solution to that problem.
“We’re disappointed (with Saturday’s loss), but he’s our coach,” Bjork said. “I’m focused on supporting our players and our coaches and continuing to get to know our fan base and our donor base and leading through this disappointing time.”
Bjork pointed to Ohio State's academic success and the third-ranked recruiting class Ohio State will sign this week. “Our program is built to last, and coach Day has done that," Bjork said. "He has put us in a great spot.”
Asked whether public opinion turning against Day would say his opinion, Bjork said, "Let’s go make a run in the playoff. That’s all I’m going to say. Let’s go make a run in the playoff. That’s what we’ve got to do.”
And what happens if Ohio State does not make a Playoff run? Day himself did not get into his future with the program and the who, what, why and how of Ohio State's stunning setback as 20-point favorites to a 6-5 Michigan team on Saturday, which was understandable given he was just moments removed from the game.
But the Ohio State fan base simply will not accept losing The Game, losing That Game, and simply moving on while pointing to recruiting rankings and graduation rates as proof that everyone's fine. At some point in the near future after Ohio State's season ends, if Day is to continue as Ohio State's head coach -- and, to be clear, all indications right now are that he will -- Day and/or Bjork are going to have to give their fans something about why Ohio State lost, how they plan to fix it, and why Day is part of the solution.
Stay tuned.
Read the full story here.