Kirk Herbstreit Aggressively Defends Ohio State Coach Ryan Day

Ex-Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Kirk Herbstreit does not take the fans who want head coach Ryan Day fired seriously.

The Ohio State Buckeyes have lost their last two games to their bitter rivals, the Michigan Wolverines, with history being on the line in the next matchup of "The Game," as three straight losses would make it the first time since 1997. But is that failure to beat Michigan and falling short of winning a national championship enough to justify wanting head coach Ryan Day ousted? 

The rational and correct answer is absolutely not. But even within the Buckeyes fanbase are rumblings of discontent over Day's tenure through four seasons, not including his stint as the acting coach. 

In a recent interview with the Toledo Blade ex-Buckeye turned ESPN analyst Kirk Herbsteit gave his thoughts on this vocal minority.

“The 15 percenters, they get mad at anything,” Herbstreit said. “That percent is going to be mad at something always. [Day] could win the Michigan game, go to the playoff and lose, and they’ll be mad about that. That group is just a bunch of jackasses who kind of embarrass all of us as Ohio State fans. So I don’t really care, honestly, what that group thinks.”

"Jackasses" is the colorful way to put it, and to Herbstreit's point, Day has beaten Michigan, then went to the playoffs and lost in the national championship game back in 2020. That run was just the second of three appearances in the playoffs since Day took over in 2019. The latest appearance was this past fall, where the Buckeyes lost 42-41 on a missed field goal to the eventual national champion Georgia Bulldogs.

“The people who matter, the logical people who actually have a brain and understand the sport, they love what Ryan Day has done," Herbstreit continued. "The fact that this is even a topic is almost comical."

No, the Buckeyes haven't gotten over the hump in Day's three tries at winning a championship. However, as recent history has shown, continued success off-the-field in recruiting at an elite level paired with development eventually leads to winning championships.

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