Ryan Day Lays Out Bold Career Goal When Asked About Leaving Ohio State for NFL

Day spent two years as an NFL assistant earlier in his coaching career.

Head coach Ryan Day fires up the crowd during the Ohio State Buckeyes College Football Playoff National Championship celebration at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Jan. 26, 2025. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ryan Day has experienced the best and worst of what college football brings as head coach of one of the preeminent programs in the sport. Day broke through to win his first national championship as Ohio State coach earlier this month, less than two months after many fans wanted him fired after the Buckeyes' fourth consecutive loss to archrival Michigan.

Day did not entertain any openings during the NFL's coaching cycle, despite plenty of speculation that he might want to leave Columbus, Ohio and its rabid fans behind. Day is no stranger to the pro game, having coached quarterbacks under Chip Kelly for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2015 and San Francisco 49ers in '16.

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Would Day make the jump back to the pros? He was asked that question directly on this week's episode of The Steam Room podcast with TNT's Ernie Johnson and Charles Barkley. While he certainly won't rule it out as something in the future, right now his plan is to stay the course at Ohio State.

“I would never wanna say, ‘I would never consider it,’ because you don’t know how things can change,” Day said.

“I was in the NFL for two years and had a great experience there, and it’s a great league. But right now the impact we can make on young people is, to me, more impactful in college. And that’s why I got into this game, was to do that and that’s what I want to do.”

Instead, his sights are now on bolstering his legacy with the Buckeyes. Day cited Woody Hayes as the last Ohio State coach to win multiple national championships. His new goal is to join the program legend.

“Woody Hayes is the last one to win multiple national championships at Ohio State,” Day said. “That’s something I’ve now set for myself. To be the next head coach to win multiple championships at Ohio State. There’s still a lot more to be done.”

While Day's struggles against Michigan remain an issue for some Buckeye fans, he has a pretty untouchable résumé otherwise, with a 70–10 record and now a national title to his name in his first six years as head coach. Only Notre Dame legend Knute Rockne has a better record (112-15-5) among college football coaches with at least 50 games coached in their careers.

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