Ryan Day Reveals Heartfelt Remarks On Being Ohio State's Head Coach

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day understands the business side of college football more than most.

Anywhere outside of Columbus, winning the College Football Playoff national championship, as Day and the Buckeyes did in 2024, would lead to guaranteed job security for almost life.

It's different at Ohio State, though, where the expectations are seemingly so much higher than anywhere else in the country. Heck, Day is coming off a title win but he's still feeling the pressure because of his four-game losing streak to Michigan.

It's a never-ending grind, and Day was clear in a recent interview on The Bobby Carpenter Show that his mindset had to be "on to the next one" as soon as the confetti from the championship win hit the floor.

That could drive anyone bonkers, even someone who understands the pressure cooker of college football. It has to be hard to actually enjoy the winning when it happens, and that's what makes the big losses that much more devastating when they happen.

There is an underlying current for Day and his staff at Ohio State, though, and perhaps it's the reason for his success as head coach. Yes, college football is a big business, but this is ultimately all still for the love of the game for Ohio State.

For Day, and his coaching staff, that means remembering why they got into coaching in the first place.

It's to make a difference.

"To me and to our staff, it has to be pouring into young people," Day said when asked about where he finds his purpose as Ohio State's head coach. "We're helping young people reach their dreams and goals. So when we're standing on the [championship] stage, it had nothing to do with me. It had everything to do with everybody else. Because it took everybody."

Sure, the championships and millions of dollars have to be nice, but at the end of the day, coaching is really about pouring into young people whom you believe you can help grow and succeed. Few programs do it better than Ohio State, especially as it relates to helping players achieve their dreams of playing in the NFL.

Ryan Day shares where he finds purpose as Ohio State’s head coach:

"To me and our staff, it has to be that you are pouring into young people." pic.twitter.com/OBhs9AiMHd
— Bobby Carpenter Show (@BobbyCarpShow) July 17, 2025

And perhaps that's the rub for Day. Yes, there's pressure to perform and there's criticism when you don't, but at the end of the day, he's doing what he believes he was put on this earth to do.

That has to be fulfilling.

"It comes down to helping these young people reach their dreams and goals, and that's why you get into coaching," Day explained.