Herbstreit fires back at First Take: You tried to fire Ryan Day

ESPN analyst, and Ohio State alum, Kirk Herbstreit took issue with speculation on First Take that Ryan Day was about to get bounced after his team dominated Tennessee.

Kirk Herbstreit though First Take's talk about Ryan Day being on the hot seat was a little premature, especially after Ohio State trounced Tennessee in the first round of the College Football Playoff. / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Despite hosting a first round College Football Playoff game, the mood around Ohio State was notably sour after the Michigan loss, and with plenty of speculation that Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day could be facing termination if anything went wrong in the postseason.

Ohio State responded to that talk by shellacking Tennessee in the Horseshoe in the first round game, and ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit took a moment to respond to that talk, in particular some of the talking heads on “First Take,” the network’s flagship sports talk program.

“First Take tried to fire him,” Herbstreit said. “They thought he was done.”

He added: “So I’ll be excited to see what they talk about on Monday after this performance. They had him out, trying to find replacements. But here he is. Still got his hat on, still coaching.”

Paul Finebaum was among those speculating that Day’s place at Ohio State was in peril if his team failed to play well during the playoff.

“There’s a lot of speculation about what’s going to happen to Ryan Day, but remember a couple things should they lose,” Finebaum said on the program.

“There’s a $37 million price tag. That’s serious money. Ultimately, I think this is a must-win game for Ryan Day.”

Stephen A. Smith, the most prominent voice on ESPN, suggested that Ohio State should use that money to get Coach Prime in case things went south for Day.

“I understand that $37 million is a lot of money when it comes to Ryan Day,” he said. “If you can get your hands on Deion Sanders and bring him to the Ohio State, you pay the $37 million.”

But all that talk gets put on hold now, at least for another week.

Day and the Buckeyes put on a performance no one in Ohio will soon forget, responding to the pressure and the criticism, and a perceived Tennessee “takeover”by visiting fans in their own stadium, pounding the Vols by a 42-17 count.

Will Howard finished 24 for 29 passing for 311 yards and two touchdown passes to freshman phenom wideout Jeremiah Smith, stacking up 473 total yards of offense against a Tennessee defense that ranks fourth nationally in total production.

For now, that’s enough to change the narrative around Day’s tenure at Ohio State, but the expanded playoff only means that the obstacles will continue to mount on the road to the national championship.

Next up is a trip to the Rose Bowl in a rematch against the Oregon team that beat the Buckeyes by a single point earlier this season.

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