Well, college football is not all glitz and glamor. Obviously, we are emotionally connected to the sport. So much so that we readily put college football head coaches on a pedestal. And what happens when they fail to bring us a victory? Well, we all know the next move. Online bashing and calls for firing start to rage. Guess who knows this feeling the best? It has to be the Ohio State Buckeyes HC Ryan Day. After all, not only he but his family too had been dragged through the mud whenever the Buckeyes faltered in their path. 

We all know about the Kirk Herbstreit vs. Shannon Sharpe and Stephen A. Smith hoopla. Forget, college football fans. Even the analysts are split up into two teams when the matter is about the Ohio State HC. Day has been in the hot seat for quite some time now and has been dealing with the ‘Fire Ryan Day’ heat. One of the major reasons he turned into a hate magnet is the Michigan factor.

The Buckeyes have lost all four games against the Michigan Wolverines over Day’s tenure in Columbus. Even the 2024 season had been a great miss. That’s when his buyout figures worth $37 million started to do rounds. However, for Day, things had been extra tough in his personal life too. And nobody knows it better than analyst Bruce Feldman.

On The Solid Verbal College Football Podcast, The Athletic and FOX Sports writer shared some behind-the-scenes that showed how Day and his family had a challenging time dealing with all the hate. Not many know that Day had spent some tough years while growing up. Since his job hung by a thread called winning the playoffs, the pressure got 100x more for Day.

Feldman shared, “Mental health has been a big important issue to him because his father died by s- – -ide when he was like eight or nine years old.” So, it must have been a personal challenge for the Ohio State HC to prove himself to his late father and family. The analyst continued, “I’m sitting there after the Michigan game thinking… if they don’t win the national title…I wonder if he’s going to say, ‘You know what? this isn’t worth it for my family.’”

Sadly, it’s not just Day who had to face this ugly side of the sport. Even his son, R.J., and his other family members were not spared. “R.J., his son, told me school was really rough. He had grown men coming after him. They hired their own, you know, security firm,” shared the FOX Sports writer. Trying to protect the family, even Day’s father-in-law, who himself had been battling with cancer, had to be there. Meanwhile, knowing what happened to Day’s wife is surely going to send you chills. 

Behind the glory of Ryan Day’s coaching success

All that sparkles is not gold. Fans often get to see how the head coaches are splurging on lavish cars and taking family to luxury vacations. What they do not see is what comes with it. The hate and the backlash. Already things have been tough for the Buckeyes after their narrow 13-10 loss to archrival Wolverines on November 30. Until one point in time, things were limited to comments like, “Ryan’s a loser. Ryan can’t win big games. Ryan was born on third base.” Some of them did not even inch back before urging Day to “follow in his father’s footsteps” and end his life. 

Just when they thought things could not get any worse, Day’s wife, Nina, had her phone number released online. After that, she began receiving threatening calls and text messages. Before things went out of control, Nina even considered moving herself and her children out of the state after her 16-year-old son R.J. received death threats.

“It was very difficult…There were a lot of tears. We shielded [our kids] from a lot of it because I didn’t want to scare them. I didn’t want them to stay up at night thinking anything bad was going to happen…My kids need to hear positivity around their father, around the program…I want my kids to enjoy this moment because they deserve it,” pleaded Ryan Day’s wife, Nina. So, maybe Ryan Day’s burning ambition for a national title was about more than the glory. It was a fight to shield his family from the venom of fan frustration.