Former Buckeye football star and assistant coach Mike Vrabel was officially introduced today as the new head coach of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans.
Tonight, it appears that despite reports from earlier this week, another Buckeye assistant coach is not going to be joining him.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted Monday night, “Ryan Day is expected to remain in Columbus and not become the Tennessee Titans’ offensive coordinator, per source.”
Just one day earlier, it was Schefter who initially reported that Vrabel was targeting Day for that job.
The 2017 seasons was Day’s first in Columbus, and included big jumps in the offense’s passing yardage (more than 900 additional yards) and passing efficiency (23 points higher than 2016).
This fall, the Buckeyes will be breaking in a new starting quarterback to start the season for the first time since 2014. Redshirt sophomore Dwayne Haskins, redshirt junior Joe Burrow, and redshirt freshman Tate Martell will be fighting for the starting job during spring football.
On Twitter, Haskins and Martell greeted the news with relief on Monday night.
— Dwayne Haskins, Jr? (@dh_simba7) January 23, 2018
— TATE MARTELL (@TheTateMartell) January 23, 2018
So far this offseason, the Ohio State football coaching staff has remained intact, despite significant interest from other schools.
Greg Schiano was close to taking the Tennessee head coaching job before backlash from Volunteer fans killed the deal. Back in December, Urban Meyer said that Day had already passed up a head coaching opportunity in the SEC this offseason.
[Ryan Day photo courtesy OhioStateBuckeyes.com]
I am surprised and not totally convinced. Part of Vrabels pitch to Titans brass included Day.
Schefter is an idiot whose primary goal is to be first in reporting something, rather than the first to report something accurately. He’s a perfect example of the decline not only of sports reporting, but of reporting generally, in this country.
There should be some way to penalize these clowns for passing off guesswork and misinformation as fact.
Huge. This team is invested in next year. Continuity in coaching is the high speed highway to that dream. No bumps. Great long term decision for Day, as well, as he might be the Tom Hermann of next year.