Ryan Day considers volatility of coaching jobs amid midseason firings

Eight Division I college football programs have fired their head coaches during the first seven weeks of the 2025 college football season. None bigger than that of Penn State letting go of longtime head coach James Franklin after a 3-3 start to the season.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day is a coach who faced hot seat criticism from fans as recently as last season before the Buckeyes went on to win the national championship. Day recently gave his perspective on the unpredictability that comes with coaching a major college football program.

“When you come in the building every day, you have to identify, you know what your focus is and what your goal is,” Day said. “Our focus is on these young men, and making them better and winning allows us an opportunity to continue to do that. This is the most competitive environment there is in the world, and it’s getting more and more competitive every day, as we know.

“This is what you signed up for. We’re in this environment because we chose to be, and it’s ultra competitive. So you’ve got to bring it every day, and you surround yourself with great people. You attack every day the best way you can. That’s it. You can’t worry about what happened yesterday. You can’t worry about what’s going on tomorrow. You just maximize the day.”

Day’s own job was being called for following Ohio State’s fourth consecutive loss to Michigan during the regular season finale last year. It kept the Buckeyes out of the Big Ten Championship game, and fans were furious about it. One month later, and Day’s Buckeyes were hoisting the national championship trophy.

“I think when you’re in the season, you’re kind of in the ocean,” Day said. “You’re kind of getting banged around a little bit, and you don’t really see any land anywhere near. But that’s okay. You just keep keep rowing and keep moving forward. So that’s it. We’ve got another big challenge this week, because everybody we play against wants to win.”

That’s all Day has done since the end of last regular season: win. The Michigan loss was the last time the Buckeyes tasted defeat, as they’re off to a 6-0 start to the 2025 college football season.

Ohio State will take on Wisconsin on the road during Week 8. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET live on CBS.