Ryan Day addresses Jim Knowles being linked to Duke head coaching position
The college football coaching carousel is currently in full motion. There have been several high-profile firings and hirings of head coaches throughout the sports landscape. When it comes to hiring, the Ohio State Buckeyes have several quality candidates, such as defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and offensive coordinator Brian Hartline.
Recently, Knowles has been linked to the head coaching opening for the Duke Blue Devils. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day is fully aware of the Blue Devil’s looking into his defensive coordinator and discussed his thoughts on members of his coaching staff being looked at for opportunities elsewhere.
“Yeah, he communicated with me that they had reached out. So, I know he is still in the mix there and having communications. And we’ll deal with it, but that’s part of this time of year with job searches,” said Day.
“I’m sure our guys are gonna continually be sought after. We have a really good staff. And Jim’s a great coach, and you know he’ll continue to have opportunities. But I know he’s very happy here at Ohio State as well.”
Knowles has strong ties to Duke as he spent multiple seasons coaching within the program. After spending six years as the head coach at Cornell, 2004-2009, Knowles joined the Blue Devil’s coaching staff under former head coach David Cutcliffe as defensive coordinator. He also coached the safety position and inside linebackers during his eight years in the program.
With the possibility of leading the program, he helped become competitive on the field; Knowles might not be at Ohio State next season. Still, if he decides to stay, it appears as if Day would have no objection to keeping one of the top defensive coordinators in college football as a part of his coaching staff for the foreseeable future.
Day explains how Ohio State will approach the transfer portal
Day is embracing change. On Sunday, the Ohio State head coach discussed how his team plans on approaching the transfer portal this offseason.
“It’s inevitable,” Day said. “Early on, it was use it when you need to. But, the way things are now, I just think, year in and year out, the majority of teams are going to see turnover. We’ll have guys enter the portal. There’ll be a lot of guys in the portal starting tomorrow. You have to construct your roster on a yearly basis, and that’s what we’re gonna do.
“It’s no longer one of those things. Are you going to use the portal or not? That’s part of college football. We are going to make sure that we’re doing a great job of identifying the right people that fit the program because there’s a lot of pride in that locker room.”
Day’s press conference was on Sunday. On Monday morning, Ohio State saw five players enter the transfer portal, including starting quarterback Kyle McCord. Now, Day has no option but to hit the portal.
Ohio State found mild success in the portal last year. The program added 10 players while losing 12. However, its additions were mainly improvements. Specifically, the Buckeyes lost only one former four-star prospect while adding four.