For the first time in 40 years, an Ohio State football coach has been named Big Ten Coach of the Year, as Ryan Day was honored with the Dave McClain Big Ten Coach of the Year award, which is selected by the conference’s media.
Day is 15-0 in his career as a head coach and becomes the first Buckeye head coach since Earle Bruce in 1979 to be named the B1G’s top coach.
Minnesota’s PJ Fleck won the Hayes-Schembechler Big Ten Coach of the Year, which is voted on by the conference coaches. Minnesota went 10-2 this season, finishing second in the Big Ten West.
Meanwhile, Day’s Buckeyes entered the 2019 season with question marks and doubters, but have ascended to the top spot in the College Football Playoff rankings.
Ohio State currently leads the nation in scoring, is fourth in scoring defense, has the No. 5 total offense in the nation, the No. 1 total defense, and has won all 12 of their games so far by at least 11 points.
Over the years, both coach of the year awards have lazily gone to the coaches who do the most with the least, which is why John Cooper, Jim Tressel, and Urban Meyer never won this award.