Throughout the year, we will be asking and answering questions about various Ohio State teams, the players, and anything else on our collective minds of varying degrees of importance. If you have a question that
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After three straight losses, including two while being more than 20-point favorites, Penn State fired longtime head football coach James Franklin. Since then, guesses and speculation have been rampant about who will take over the program, with names being bandied about from alums to conference rivals to NFL coordinators and more.
And while we very much want to see Ryan Day retire as Ohio State’s head coach sometime around the year 2050, we did get a little jealous that we couldn’t get in on the fun of thumbing through the Rolodex of options to pretend we were picking a new coach of our own.
So, in this week’s fan survey, we decided to have a little fun. We want to know who you would want to take over leading the Buckeyes, if following this season, Day decides to retire following two-straight national titles, to take an NFL head coaching job, or is simply beamed up to a spaceship in order to teach the sport of football to intellectually advanced, but athletically challenged, creatures from another planet.
Then, since it is a game week, we want you to pick the winner and winning margin for Saturday’s game against (potential OSU head coach) Luke Fickell’s Wisconsin Badgers.
Check out the questions below, and then make sure to vote in the survey beneath the article. If your favorite answer for Question 1 isn’t included in the survey, feel free to head down to the comments at the bottom of the page and write in your pick. Then, on Saturday morning before the game, check back with LGHL in order to check out the results.
Question 1: If Ohio State had to replace Ryan Day following the season, who would you want to be the next head coach?
While Ryan Day has certainly earned his Ohio bona fides, one thing that is often discussed when theorizing who could be a potential Buckeye coach is whether or not he has ties to the state and/or university. So, I selected 10 coaches with some sort of Ohio ties. Whether they are former Buckeye players, current assistant coaches, former OSU coaches, Ohio natives, or in some cases, two or three of the criteria.
What’s interesting to me is that, if OSU had to replace Day ahead of the 2026 season, my answer would be far different than say if it was before the 2030 season. If we needed a new coach in January of this year, I might turn to someone with head coaching experience and attempt to lure Mike Vrabel away from the New England Patriots, or maybe call on Nick Saban for a short stint, almost as a bridge to the long-term future coach.
But, if this happened a couple of years down the road, I think I would turn to who I assume will be Ohio State’s defensive coordinator sooner rather than later, James Laurinaitis. Despite being a two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and a three-time All-American, and leading the NFL in tackles in 2012, I think that Little Animal is going to be an even better coach than he was a player. What he has done in a short time with the linebacker room is remarkable, and the way that players (both Buckeyes and prospects) shows just how well he connects with them.
Question 2: What will the margin of victory be in Saturday’s game against Wisconsin?
On Sunday, the FanDuel Sportsbook opened its betting at OSU -28.5. Since then, it has dropped a couple of points to 26.5 points. The gold standard college football analytics system, SP+, has it as a 36-11 game in favor of the Buckeyes, which is 25 points, still just under that line.
So, while I will make my official pick and prediction on Saturday morning in the “Land-Grant Tailgate Podcast,” right now, I am inclined to go with something like 37-0. Look, until someone proves to me that it is possible to score a touchdown against this defense, I won’t believe it.
Throughout the year, we ask questions of the most plugged-in Ohio State fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
