Ryan Day should’ve never had to win a natty to convince Ohio State fans he's the guy

The relationship between the Ohio State fan base and head football coach Ryan Day has been strained to say the least. To those outside Columbus, it's been almost laughable considering the Buckeyes have been viewed as perennial national title contenders as long as he's been at the helm.

In fact, the idea has been tossed around that Day must win Monday night's College Football Playoff National Championship Game against opponent Notre Dame in order to keep his job. Why, you may ask, would Day be in danger of losing his job if he's got his team playing for a championship?

Well, Ohio State (13-2) lost its fourth straight game to arch-nemesis Michigan and failed to win the Big Ten Conference. Day did both in his first year in charge (2019) and repeated as conference champs in 2020 (the game vs. Michigan was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic).

To fans and pundits apparently, those two qualifications matter more than the four CFP appearances in six years (two national title game appearances included).

Ryan Day has nothing to prove to Ohio State fans and the data backs him up

Ohio State football has had four different head coaches since 2001, accruing two national championships and 15 top five finishes in the final poll of the year. Of that, Day is responsible for three of those top five finishes with another one likely on the way with or without a national championship win.

Per ESPN's national championship game preview, Day's analytical prowess should overshadow any criticism he's been receiving from rather spoiled Buckeyes fans. Over his six years, he owns a better win percentage than the legendary Jim Tressel in the same period and a superior SP+ percentile rating (98.4 percent) than Urban Meyer (95.4 percent), who won the program's first national title since Tressel's 2002 team.

I get it, at the end of the day folks ask how many championships you won and a juggernaut like Ohio State is always measured in trophies and not conference wins. Beating a rival as big as Michigan as many times as possible is an understandable priority, but Day deserves a lot more praise than he gets and he certainly shouldn't be on the hot seat regardless of the result Monday.

I'm not saying build the statue, his legacy will be a lot more complicated than college football historians will realize in the future. But in the end, what more could you really ask from a head coach leading a program that expects excellence year in and year out?