Ryan Day Falls in Recent CFB Head Coach Rankings, Behind Jim Harbaugh?

Have back-to-back losses to Michigan's Jim Harbaugh and failure to win a national championship seen Ryan Day drop in the rankings?

Author:
Harrison Reno
Mar 10, 2023 9:51 AM EST

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Ohio State Buckeyes

The Ohio State Buckeyes have one of the best head coaches in college football in Ryan Day, but where does he rank among others?

A recent article from The Athletic has Day ranked as the sixth-best coach in college football, down from his ranking last year in the same article where they had Day at No. 4. So, what's changed? Has rival Michigan's Jim Harbaugh jumped him?

Yes to the latter question; in the opinion of the rankings, Day has fallen below Harbaugh. But not only Harbaugh; Penn State head coach James Franklin also jumped Day.

"I have Franklin above because of his work at Vandy and because he took over a much tougher situation than Day, 43, did when he inherited a high-powered operation from Urban Meyers..." The Athletic said.

It is true Franklin did take on the head coaching at Vanderbilt, a struggling program, and managed to make them respectable as he finished with a 24-15 record, averaging eight wins a season before joining the Nittany Lions. But is that enough for Franklin to jump ahead of the Buckeyes' Day?

As the article notes, Day has had Ohio State on the doorstep of winning a national championship, leading the team to an undefeated 2020 season before facing eventual champions Alabama for the title. However, last season Day's Buckeyes were a missed field goal away from beating Georgia in the College Football Playoffs semifinal.

As for Harbaugh, who has been on the winning side of his last two coaching battle with Day, and going on to win two-straight Big Ten titles and CFP appearances. Yet the Wolverines haven't come any closer to a national championship after being blown out by Georgia in 2021 and falling short of beating TCU this past fall.