Ohio State football coach Ryan Day praised by Gene Smith in job evaluation

Former Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith had glowing words for football coach Ryan Day in his written evaluation last spring, according to a copy of his 2023-24 performance evaluation obtained by The Dispatch through a public records request on Thursday.

On May 11, he signed the one and a half month Gün evaluation before retirement comes into effect With the end of the academic year.

“Working with Ryan has been the greatest blessing,” Smith wrote. “I will miss many people, but none more than Ryan.”

Smith previously promoted Day Chestnut horses‘offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Succeeding Urban Meyer In 2019, he posted a 53-8 overall record in his first five seasons at the helm of the program.

But in his comments at the end-of-year executive review, he heaped praise on Day’s performance at various stages.

“He continues to be outstanding in his personnel management, recruiting character and talent (academic and athletic), positioning players to succeed on and off the field, and contributing greatly to the overall culture of the department,” Smith wrote.

“It’s been a joy to witness and be a small part of Ryan’s growth as a leader. He is passionate, compassionate and driven to succeed. He acts with empathy, care, compassion and strength. Players gravitate to him because they know he cares.”

Smith also recognized Day for her involvement in the Columbus area. In June, a $1 million donation He and his wife, Nina, came together to support mental health research and services at Ohio State.

“He continues to do a wonderful job of being present in the community,” Smith wrote. “The events or programs he attends or participates in are numerous and his presence is felt. He exceeds expectations in many areas.”

Ross Bjork He replaced Smith as the Buckeyes’ athletic director on July 1 and also praised Day, whose contract has been extended to 2022 received a salary increase last year.

In one interview with The Dispatch this summerBjörk described Day as “one of the smartest coaches I’ve ever met in my career.”

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Despite having the highest winning percentage among active coaches in the Football Bowl Subdivision, Day has faced criticism for a handful of losses. Lost three straight games to archrival MichiganIt was his longest losing streak in The Game since 1995-97. Day is 1-3 in the competition.

Their losing streak against the Wolverines has also prevented them from winning the Big Ten every year. Ohio State’s last conference title came in 2020.

As part of his performance evaluation, Day stated that his goals include beating Michigan and winning the Big Ten, as well as making the College Football Playoff, winning a national championship, being a top-five team in 2025 and seeing the team finish with at least a 3.0 GPA.

Professional development goals included researching and reviewing best practices for game management and an expanded postseason, referencing a new two-minute timeout the NCAA adopted for this season. The playoff bracket has expanded from four teams to 12 teams, potentially extending the length of the season for teams by several games.

“We are constantly researching NIL best practices at other universities and teams,” he added.

In his year-end self-evaluation, he listed accomplishments such as signing one of the top five high school recruiting classes, making six impactful transfers during the winter transfer period and finishing with an 11-2 record overall, including wins over Notre Dame and Penn State last fall.

Day listed seven strengths as follows: communication, emotional intelligence, competitiveness, football IQ, organization, integrity and work ethic.

He also identified areas for improvement, such as better delegating responsibilities and holding assistant coaches more accountable for their position groups and units. Delegation efforts include delegating offensive play-calling responsibilities for the first time this year, new offensive coordinator Chip KellyKelly, Day’s longtime coaching mentor since he was a quarterback at New Hampshire began to look for crime In the Buckeyes Season-opening win over Akron Last Saturday.

In response to The Dispatch’s records request, Ohio State also released performance evaluations of the Buckeyes’ assistant football coaches.

All were rated as meeting or exceeding expectations in year-end performance ratings, as evaluated by Day. Offensive line coach Justin Frye was the only returning position coach not rated as exceeding expectations.

Co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Brian Hartline, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, tight ends coach Kennan Bailey, defensive line coach Larry Johnson and secondary coach Tim Walton surpassed their own goals.

Four new or promoted assistants — Kelly, running backs coach Carlos Locklyn, defensive backs coach James Laurinaitis and safeties coach Matt Guerrieri — were listed as meeting expectations after only a few months in their roles. The reviews were conducted in June.

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter. @joeyrkaufman or email him [email protected].

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