Rob Oller: Ryan Day unleashes his inner attack dog by bringing bite to his coaching bark
Ryan Day is becoming an attack dog.
OK, that’s a bit strong. The Ohio State coach still is more friendly labrador retriever than teeth-baring rottweiler, but his bite is catching up to his bark.
To wit: the post-game rant at Notre Dame, during which Day dressed down Lou Holtz for questioning the Buckeyes’ toughness. (Actually, Holtz said “physicality,” but bulletin board material is subject to interpretation when a coach can turn a throwaway verbal slight into a motivating act of war.)
To wit: Day getting flagged for sideline interference during the Maryland game after Kyle McCord completed a 37-yard yard pass to Marvin Harrison Jr. It wasn’t unhinged Urban Meyer, but Day hopped in the middle of the scrum of players, coaches and an official, saying afterward he would have to run with his players for drawing the penalty even though he was merely coaching “as hard as I could.”
To wit: Saturday’s sideline blowup in the Purdue game in which Day screamed at running backs coach Tony Alford, then tore into McCord before blowing up at left tackle Josh Simmons; this in response to OSU being penalized for holding and delay of game.
What in the name of sideline Woody is going on here? Let’s unpack it.
First, it must be acknowledged that Day is under a lot of pressure, not only to win big, but to never lose. Perfection not only is expected from fickle fans but demanded. So even though Day is 51-6 in Columbus, and is 35-0 against unranked teams, those six losses – and especially losing the last two against Michigan – sting the collective psyche of Buckeye Nation. Spoiled Ohio State fans sour quickly on coaches who can’t maul the Maize and Blue.
Day champions the importance of mental health, especially for young people. Let’s hope he’s taking care of himself, too.
Second, Day knows this team is precariously flawed at offensive tackle, where Josh Simmons and Josh Fryar continue to struggle. Ohio State has a capable quarterback in McCord and enough depth at wide receiver and running back to cushion the fall of revolving door injuries at both positions. But Day’s specific duties do not include developing average tackles into world beaters. If that is even possible. As Casey Stengel said of his sad-sack New York Mets in 1962, “What’s the sense of asking a man to execute if he can’t execute?”
All of which to say Day is frustrated. We shall see if the O-line turns it around against Penn State, but best guess? Day will need to be extra creative, and McCord will need to get rid of the ball quickly and be exceptionally mobile in the pocket for the offense to shine enough to keep the coach’s emotions from boiling over like they did against the Boilermakers.
But there is more to Day’s new fiery public demeanor than a frustrated coach seeking hard-to-find answers. A lot more.
Turns out there is a method to Day’s sudden "madness." We first saw it at Notre Dame, when Day dropped a “Watch this” to an OSU media official right before unloading on Holtz during the postgame on-field interview.
Day’s passion was real, but his performance was calculated. He admitted as much in explaining that part of the art of coaching is knowing when to remain silent and when to stick up for your players, your program and yourself.
We’ve also been hearing about the new “Who Day? from players, including some who suggest it is long overdue that their coach be more openly intense.
“He’s a passionate dude. Cares about us, and in my mind, I think this was warranted two years ago,” tight end Cade Stover said. “You can’t live your life with anything held back.”
Safety Josh Proctor shared similar thoughts.
“I feel like he’s been holding a lot of stuff in from the outside world,” Proctor said. “Being the head coach, that brings a lot of pressure. I definitely feel like he’s letting a lot of that go, and we’re able to let that go, too, and just play.”
Rather than dance around the issue, I asked Day straight out if he was being more intentional about showing his more unpolished side. He could have dodged the question, the way Meyer did during big-game weeks, but instead he delivered an interesting and thoughtful response.
“This team likes to get coached hard. This is a great team that can get pushed. They respond well,” he said. “This is a tough game. There’s a lot riding on every game, and it’s my job to bring it every week, every Saturday, and push as hard as I can.”
How spontaneous is the pushing?
“For the most part, it’s thought out beforehand,” he said. “I’m not just flying off the handle, although ... every once in a while, I guess I would. I think the guys like to see the passion … and I’m going to continue to do that.”
Day said coaches need to read the room to know if players want a staffer up in their grill or if bringing the heat elicits the opposite response intended.
“It kind of depends on your team,” he said. “You have to do the best you can as a leader to lead your team, and what your team needs in that game, in that moment in that year. My feeling is this is what this team has needed to this point, and we’ll keep identifying it. … that is what you try to figure out as a head coach.”
What does it mean to coach a team hard?
“Coach Day, that’s the one side of him that I don’t know if people always get to see. He’s fired up 24/7,” McCord said. “And that brings the best out of all the guys on the team. And when you have a coach who is on you that hard and wants to see you succeed that badly, that shows how much he cares about you and the team.”
OK, but what does it feel like to get lit up by him, particularly on national TV? Day’s sideline tantrum also went viral on social media.
“You have to listen to what he’s saying, and not how he’s saying it,” McCord said, chuckling. “Obviously, in the moment he’s maybe hot, but it’s always a good message he’s trying to get across. You have to keep in mind the urgency of it. Especially at a school like Ohio State, you have to get those things changed now.
“It’s one of the things I’ve grown to be comfortable with, getting lit up by him. It’s all just part of the process.”
It’s also a delicate balance. When to be Urban? When to be Tress? And when to be yourself? Keep an eye on Day over the coming weeks, because going nuclear is not his normal. For purposes of strong mental health, he needs to guard against cratering.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football coach Ryan Day bringing more intensity to Buckeyes
