Paul Finebaum paints grim picture of Ryan Day's future at Ohio State

Paul Finebaum thinks the end is near for Ohio State coach Ryan Day, if he doesn’t lead the team to a national championship.

Following Ohio State’s latest loss to Michigan, there’s a grim picture for Day in the coming weeks. While the Buckeyes are pretty much locked into a playoff spot, currently at home against Tennessee, Ohio State needs to win it all to save Day.

Losing to Michigan is simply inexcusable.

“It’s hard to explain to people that don’t live in that rivalry, but it is that important,” Finebaum said on First Take. “Ryan Day has said it, he talked about a recent death and said it was similar to a family member, it was similar to losing this game. So, I mean, I don’t think he has anywhere to go. He has zero goodwill in Columbus, Ohio right now, and a national championship will get a lot back. Short of that, I think he’s history.”

Ryan Day could be coaching for his job in College Football Playoff

Finebaum also made the argument, which seems to be a common sentiment, that Day needs to win the national title. He’s been close before, but it’s the only way he can wash away the stink.

It stinks, no pun intended, because Day sports a tremendous win-loss record. But the losses stick out.

“I believe he probably needs to get to the championship game, because he has literally lost all the goodwill that he has earned,” Finebaum said. “And I’m not going to sit here and say that he’s done a bad job. A 66-10 (record). He’s been to the championship game, he lost by 28, he’s been there other times when he lost to Georgia a couple years ago. But, to me, he’s paid ten million dollars year to win one game. That’s the Michigan game. 

“Yeah, if he lost to Jim Harbaugh last year, I get that. Jim Harbaugh had the best team in the country, but this Michigan team is garbage. They were a 23.5 point underdog at home. This is the same team on the second week of the season that Texas went to the big house and beat them by four touchdowns. It’s inexcusable, and you people understand how big that game is. It’s arguably the biggest rivalry in the country. And to lose four times anybody else would have been fired already. The fact that he has a playoff gives him a chance, and he may have a very good chance, because remember, they spent $20 million on that roster. It’s the best roster in college football, and look what he did with it.”