Ohio State football: Where Ryan Day is in the coaching hierarchy

The Ohio State football coach has already achieved a lot in his two years as a head coach. Where does he sit in the national coaching hierarchy?

The Ohio State football program hot very lucky that they had a stud like Ryan Day on their staff after Urban Meyer retired. Meyer was one of the best coaches in program history. Day had big shoes to fill but has done a great job of filling them so far.

In his first two years, Day has only lost two games, with both of them being in the College Football Playoff. Day’s full record as a head coach is 23-2, including the three-game stretch he filled in for Meyer in 2018. Day has already established himself as one of the best coaches in the country.

Where does sit in the hierarchy of head coaches in the country up to this point? He has already amassed two Big Ten championships and two College Football Playoff appearances, including a National Championship Game appearance last season.

Not only has his record on the field been very good, but his recruiting classes have been outstanding as well. His first two full recruiting classes have been ranked fifth and second nationally respectively, and his 2022 class is ranked as the best in the country so far.

So where does that put him nationally? Let’s look at the other coaches out there. Nick Saban is still the king of college football, as he showed that against the Buckeyes just a few weeks ago. As long as he is still coaching, he is the top dog in the coaching profession.

Even though Day got his revenge against Dabo Swinney in this year’s Sugar Bowl, you still have to give the edge to Swinney. Swinney’s resumé is better right now overall. He has a couple of national championships in his pocket. Until Day gets at least one, he won’t leap over Swinney.

After that, there are two candidates who have an argument that they could be better than Day. Jimbo Fisher and Ed Orgeron both have national titles on their resumé too. Orgeron’s title seems to be more of a product of Joe Burrow than it does his coaching. Fisher hasn’t come close to winning at that level in six years.

Right now, I’d say Day is probably the third-best coach in the country. I’d accept an argument for him being fourth or fifth, but he’s I think he’s better than that. Ohio State football wouldn’t be this good without Day leading the charge.