3 coaches who would do more with Ohio State’s talent than Ryan Day

This seemed like the perfect time to Ohio State to make a statement. A bye week offered the Buckeyes an extra week to rest and recharge from that one-point loss to Oregon, and their Saturday opponent, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, were coming off an embarrassing 56-7 rout at the hands of Indiana.

Instead, the Buckeyes they almost fell on their faces. Ohio State built a 14-3 lead early, but then the offense stalled in neutral, while Dylan Raiola carved up OSU’s secondary en route to a 17-14 lead early in the fourth quarter. Will Howard responded with an impressive touchdown and the defense closed the door to escape with a 21-17 victory. But fans were hoping for something much better than an escape, and that makes two straight performances frustrating for a team that entered this season with title-or-bust expectations. Now, a title is the least of this team’s problems: with a trip to Penn State in sight, the team College Football Playoffs hopes could be in serious danger.

And if that happens, it would seemingly be the writing on the wall for the Ryan Day era in Columbus. Day was already in a tough spot after three straight losses to Michigan and a reputation for coming up short in big moments. This was considered possibly the most talented roster in the country; If Day does not finally manage to overcome the obstacle with this team, it might be time for Ohio State to find someone who can do it. Here are three names that might fit the bill.

Campbell’s recruiting record might not be what Ohio State fans are looking for. But it’s worth keeping in mind that 1) Campbell has spent the last few years at Iowa State, hardly a top destination for talent, and 2) the infrastructure the Buckeyes have in place right now goes a long way toward recruiting. What Campbell has proven he can do is develop the talent he brings, consistently producing tough, competitive teams in a place where consistent success has historically been difficult to achieve.

In many ways, Campbell is the anti-Day: the guy who came up the hard way, rather than being born on third base, and someone who managed to slay quite a few dragons during his time in Ames. What better replacement for a low-performing coach than a high-performing one?

Vrabel has emerged as something of a white whale to Buckeye fans, the prodigal son who was once part of the coaching staff but left for the NFL rather than wait his turn for the top job. Once again, Vrabel offers something that Day seems to lack: more specifically, vibes. Vrabel’s Titans teams never backed down from a fight, and that attitude would seem to be music to the ears of this Ohio State program right now. If the problem in Columbus isn’t talent but a lack of upside, Vrabel appears to be just what the doctor ordered, while bringing fundamentally sound football to a place whose culture he already knows well.

Hey, at least he knows. how to deal with nebraska. Cignetti has roots in the Midwest and has established a track record as a development machine: first in IUP Division II, then at James Madison and now in Indiana, where he completely flipped the script on a team that was downright terrible last season. past, and that had not had success like this in more than half a century. At every step of his career, Cignetti has done less with more, creating contenders that punch above their weight. Combine that modus operandi with Ohio State’s inherent talent advantages and who knows what could happen?