Ryan Day isn’t worried about finding a high-quality replacement for Tony Alford.
Day didn’t know until last Wednesday, when Alford informed Ohio State he was leaving the Buckeyes to become the running backs coach at Michigan, that he would need to hire a new running backs coach for the 2024 season. But he says Ohio State hasn’t had a hard time finding qualified candidates who are interested in the job.
“I was made aware last week, and so now we're into the process of identifying replacements. Excited about the group that we've already identified, and I’m gonna be thorough in the process,” Day said. “I think it's an exciting job, and the candidate pool has been excellent.”
While Ohio State has started interviewing candidates for the job, Day feels no need to rush into a hire. The Buckeyes already have what Day considers to be “the best running back group in the country,” led by the experienced tandem of TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins, and the transfer portal doesn’t reopen until April 16. Day is helping fill the void of a running backs coach in spring practice by coaching the RBs himself.
“It's been awesome,” Day said of coaching the running backs temporarily. “It’s been great. We went in there and put up the first play, and the first play, I think I went off for 20 minutes on one play. I think some of the guys are looking around like, ‘Oh, boy.’ But it was great, I think it's gonna be good for them to see it through the eyes of a quarterback. I think it's really good for them in the passing game. I think it's really good for them overall to understand from a high view on things. So we've had great meetings. We have a very intelligent group in that room. They're really good. They're diligent about taking notes. But again, I think it's the best running back room in the country. So whoever we hire is going to have an unbelievable opportunity and a great group of guys.”
Day says the biggest thing he’s looking for in hiring a new running backs coach is someone who’s an expert at developing the position. Recruiting ability is an important factor, too. Still, Day says it’s not a prerequisite for the new running backs coach to have previous coaching experience at a program of Ohio State’s caliber.
“I think when you're bringing anybody into the program, you're trying to figure out what is their expertise?” Day said. “The running back coach has to be an expert at coaching the running backs. You have to bring value every day. When you stand in front of a group of men, especially a group like we have in that room, your competency has to be at a high level. When you stand in front of anybody in this building, you got to know what you're talking about. And it's about building trust. And you do that through competency, through connection with somebody and then your character and who you are as a person. And so when you have trust, you can really develop guys at a high level.
“Now, the recruiting part is very, very important. And that's about building relationships and building trust through the recruiting process. Would we like somebody that has recruited at a high level already here? Yeah, I think that would be ideal. But that doesn't necessarily mean that that's going to make the best coach for that position. I think about myself coming in here, I had never recruited at a place like Ohio State before. But it worked out for me. I think some other guys had been in that same situation before. Brian Hartline had never recruited at this level before – he played at his level, but he didn't recruit here. And so while it's good to have the experience, we want to make sure we get the right guy. And we’re being very, very thorough in the interview process. We're going to ask a lot of questions, we're going to take as much time as we need, and make sure we get the right guy.”
Day is involving Ohio State’s current running backs in the interview process to get their feedback on who would be the best coach for their unit, though Day and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly will ultimately make the final decision on the hire.
“I'd like for part of the interview process for the running backs to meet the candidates. Obviously, ultimately, I'll make the decision and Chip will be a huge part of it, but the input of the running backs will be important as well,” Day said. “We’re two practices in, it’s spring break (when Alford left), there’s a change, I thought it was important for them to have some feedback on this and bring them a part of it, and I think they appreciated that.”
“We're going to ask a lot of questions, we're going to take as much time as we need, and make sure we get the right guy.”– Ryan Day on hiring a new running backs coach
Asked about the possibility that Alford could take what he learned about Chip Kelly’s offense from the start of spring practice and use it to help the Buckeyes’ rivals, Day seemed unconcerned.
“We’re nowhere near where we're going to be as we head down the road,” Day said. “That was those two practices in the spring, and a lot of what we did was what we've done in the past, and then we sprinkled in a couple of things that Chip’s done. But there's just so much more that he has that’s out in front of us. But I think more importantly, this could look differently moving forward in terms of our offense, just how we're doing things, who's in what spots. We have really good receivers, we have really good tight ends, we have good running backs, but ultimately it comes down to what the quarterback can do well, the types of throws that he can make. And the run game will look different. It just will. And that's a long time and a long journey to get to next November.”
Asked about the idea that Alford betrayed Ohio State by going up north, Day said the Buckeyes can’t allow that to be a distraction.
“Everybody has to make decisions for them and for their family, and so we try not to focus on that,” Day said. “We know that we're gonna play the schedule we play and that game is gonna come and there'll be a team on the other side with a bunch of coaches, and we'll go from there. So we're not going to try to focus too much on that, but more about our team, and that's what it's going to come down to.
“People have choices to make in their life and they go and they have their careers. And then I think for us, it's finding the right mix of guys. The right mix with the staff, the right mix of guys on the team and you just push forward from there. Knowing that there's going to be twists and turns along the way.”
Day has already navigated one unexpected coaching vacancy this offseason by hiring Chip Kelly to replace Bill O’Brien as offensive coordinator after O’Brien became the head coach at Boston College just three weeks after Ohio State hired him. Now, he has to do it again. When the dust settles, though, Day believes the combination of Kelly and a new running backs coach with returning assistants Brian Hartline, Keenan Bailey and Justin Frye will give the Buckeyes an elite offensive coaching staff.
“I think it has the potential to be the best offensive staff in the country. And that's what our goal should be,” Day said. “We're at Ohio State. So we want to have the best offensive line room, the best running backs room, the best DB room. We also want to have the best staff. And so I think if we make the right hire here, we can do that.”
