Ohio State football coach Ryan Day exceeded expectations in his annual performance review.
The evaluation, which was obtained by The Dispatch through a public-records request, was completed by athletic director Ross Bjork and covered the 2025-26 academic year.
Bjork praised Day for keeping the program among college football’s elite at a time when the sport has undergone significant upheaval.
“Coach Day’s leadership continues to transcend Ohio State and the game of college football on all levels,” Bjork wrote. “He has developed and evolved into one of the leading voices of the sport and has kept Ohio State football at the forefront while also navigating the rapid changes impacting college sports.
“The culture of our program is as strong as it has
ever been and that is a testament to his leadership and focus on every detail within the program. The coaching staff he has assembled and the program structure in place, allows him to truly be the ‘CEO of Ohio State University Football’ and this organizational set-up is critical to our success moving forward.”
Day reshaped his staff during the offseason when he hired Arthur Smith as offensive coordinator while retaining Matt Patricia as defensive coordinator. The moves provided two former NFL head coaches on staff and allowed him to continue delegating play-calling responsibilities.
A former offensive coordinator for the Buckeyes who was elevated to replace Urban Meyer in 2019, Day spent his early years calling the offense before turning it over to Chip Kelly in 2024.
The Buckeyes went unbeaten in the regular season last year and ended a bitter losing streak to rival Michigan, but their attempt to repeat as national champions ended in the College Football Playoff when they were upset by Miami in the quarterfinal round.
“Coach Day continues to operate the most consistent program in the country over the last 25 years at the highest level,” Bjork wrote, “and although we fell short of a championship in 2025, we had the best team all season long and unfortunately did not finish the way we expected.
“Coach and I both realize and embrace the expectations of Ohio State football and will continue to work together to ensure the standard of excellence is met in each phase of the program.”
Bjork also praised Day for areas off the field, citing a “record setting team GPA, third straight year of 1,000 APR score, and the social behavior of our team.” The Buckeyes had a cumulative 3.4 grade point average during the past academic year.
It was the second time Bjork, who replaced Gene Smith as athletic director in 2024, had given a formal assessment of Day.
He also judged Day as having exceeded expectations in 2024-25, which included Ohio State’s national championship-winning season.
The university defines exceeding expectations as performance that far exceeds annual goals, delivering exceptional results in quality, volume and timeliness, and having a distinguishable impact on the organization’s achievements.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com and follow him on @joeyrkaufman on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football coach Ryan Day exceeds expectations in performance review
