Urban Meyer considers whether Ryan Day should continue play-calling

After a couple seasons of somewhat disappointing finishes, underscored by back-to-back losses to Michigan, there was some question as to whether Ryan Day‘s play-calling days might be over.

They are not. The fifth-year Ohio State coach will retain his duties there, which didn’t come as a huge surprise to former Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer.

“You know, I’m not,” Meyer said on Urban’s Take with Tim May, asked if he was surprised Day will still dial them up in 2023. “He just, when you’re so good at something it’s hard to give it up.”

Ohio State’s offense has rarely been the problem for the team in the Day era, which has ended in 11 wins or more in three of four seasons (with the fourth resulting in a national championship game appearance in the COVID-19 impacted 2020 campaign).

So there’s some argument to be made that Day should continue calling the plays. The real question is whether anything else is being sacrificed with his attention diverted to the offense.

Meyer didn’t seem to feel strongly about whether Ryan Day’s play-calling was an issue.

“I think he has great trust in his offensive staff, Brian Hartline in particular,” Meyer said. “I know a lot of his day to day he’s going to hand off to his guys. The one thing is, and he’s said this to me many times and he believes it, you got to be the head coach it’s hard to be the primary (play-caller). I think he’s going to rely on his staff more than he ever has.”

That Day will at least lean on his staff more seems like an indication of some change in the overall strategy heading into 2023.

But if Ryan Day’s play-calling is a net positive for the program, he certainly doesn’t want to sacrifice that. So for the time being, he will lean on his staff more heavily while retaining play-calling duties.

Meyer explained that should be a comfortable position for the Ohio State head man.

“They’ve been together for a long time, Hartline and Corey Dennis,” Meyer said. “They feel really good about Justin Frye. Keenan is the tight end coach, Keenan Bailey. So he’s got his little posse of people, and I’ve seen them. I’ve been there.

“When you walk in that room it’s not like you’re walking in and there’s a whole new offense on the board and you’re like, ‘Wait a minute.’ That’s happened to me before. When I walk in I’m like, ‘Wait a minute, what is that?’ If I walk in and it’s our stuff, with the puzzle moving around, I feel so much better. And that’s the way Ryan Day feels now.”

Ohio State will open its season on Sept. 2 on the road at Indiana, where Day’s play-calling will be on display once again.