Ohio State football: Ryan Day's safety net is gone

The Ohio State football team is entering a critical season in 2024. They are four years removed from last having won the Big Ten and they haven't beaten Michigan since 2019. Neither of those facts is acceptable. The Buckeyes have to win big this season.

Ryan Day knows that. That's why he made all of the changes he made to the coaching staff and the roster. He brought in Chip Kelly to take over the offense and made a great hire in Carlos Locklyn for the running back room. He also switched out Kyle McCord for Will Howard at quarterback.

Day knows that he has to win big because his safety net is gone. Gene Smith has officially retired and Ross Bjork is now the AD. Bjork was hired to help NIL keep running smoothly. The only coach he has hired for the revenue-generating sports is a new baseball coach and retaining Jake Diebler as the men's basketball coach.

Ryan Day needs to win big to keep his job as the Ohio State football team coach

If Day doesn't meet the minimum expectations of beating Michigan and making the College Football Playoff, he'll be looking for a new job. He knows this. It's not something he's hiding from or not acknowledging. He knows there is pressure this year and he's embracing it.

Day has the best defense he's had since his first season. It might even be better as a whole even if they don't have a game-wrecker on the same level as Chase Young. That defense is going to lead the Buckeyes again in 2024, although the offense will still be better.

I am expecting Ohio State to be a great team and meet those minimum expectations. If for some reason they can't, coaches will line up to take over this job. That will be Bjork's defining moment early in his tenure as athletic director.