Ohio State head coach Ryan Day shocked Buckeye Nation and the entire college football world with his decision to take over play-calling duties from Brian Hartline just days before their playoff opener. The move immediately stirred the pot, raising questions about whether it was impulsive or logical. However, former Ohio State head honcho Urban Meyer seemed to be in a fog about it.

On December 22, Meyer hopped on Colin Cowherd’s The Herd podcast and spoke candidly about Ryan Day’s decision when asked directly. He started by laying out the logic based on his own experience:

“The last two national championships, we were part of the first one at Florida. Dan Mullen left to become the head coach at Mississippi State, and I made the decision to bring him back to call plays. I had to stay on top of it….then Tom Herman left to be the head coach at Houston, and I brought him back, and you have to stay on it.”

Urban Meyer’s point addressed a major point: when a play-calling assistant coach takes another job, the head coach must put their egos aside and do everything possible to make sure nothing slips through the cracks. Meyer openly admitted that he was more of a special teams guy and that play-calling wasn’t his area of expertise, so he kept his OCs calling plays even when they already had one foot out the door.

He backed it up with examples from his own career.

Tom Herman agreed to become the head coach at Houston (Cougars) before Ohio State won the natty in January 2015. The news dropped probably around December 16, 2014, but Urban Meyer still let that OC call plays all the way through the playoffs. Basically, this meant he had to juggle both roles for almost a month, but Meyer didn’t want to mess with continuity.

Same thing with Dan Mullen back in Urban Meyer’s Gainesville days. During Florida’s BCS title run in 2008, Mullen had already accepted the head coaching job at Mississippi State. Despite that, Urban Meyer kept him calling plays to ensure the program doesn’t suffer. However, when it comes to Ohio State, it’s a very different case.

“Here’s the difference. Ryan Day is an elite play caller, so there will be no drop off,” Urban Meyer said. “He’s knees deep in the offense. I think he made the right decision. No offense to Brian Hartline but Brian Hartline is a head coach of South Florida.”

Meyer also makes it clear that Hartline’s leaving isn’t an insult to his ability. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Hartline got a head coaching job, which shows how good he is. But given that change, Meyer feels Day stepping up is the safest and smartest decision. Overall, he’s confident the offense will be just fine under Ryan Day’s control.

Now, we have Urban Meyer’s reassurance on Ryan Day, let’s test this theory and break down the pros and cons of Ryan Day taking over play-calling.

Pros and cons of Ryan Day’s play-calling

Ryan Day’s play-calling at Ohio State has been very successful and productive whenever he’s held that responsibility.

The biggest “pro” is obvious: production. His offenses have ranked in the top three nationally in scoring three times and have produced tons of first-round talent (14) along with a couple of Heisman finalists (6), including Dwayne Haskins, Justin Fields, and C.J. Stroud.

Ryan Day’s offense is known for its aggressive, pass-first style and for scoring touchdowns in bunches. No wonder Buckeye quarterbacks were casually putting up 40–50 touchdown seasons at the peak of his play-calling.

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However, there are some noticeable “cons” when it comes to big games, more specifically against the Michigan Wolverines, where his play-calling can get a little “vanilla” or predictable. Fans and analysts have sometimes seen the offense struggle in the red zone during those matchups.

There’s also always the question of whether he can truly manage all the head coaching responsibilities while dialing up plays at the same time. If you dug into his past, the numbers do offer some clarity.

When Day is calling plays, the offense is usually lights out. A perfect example is 2023, when he didn’t call plays for the first time, and the offense slightly fell off. They ranked 45th nationally in scoring that year, a clear dip from his usual top-tier standard. That drop-off shows just how good he is.

At the end of the day, most people would agree that Day is a super-smart offensive mind, maybe even the top three in the sport, even today. Once Ryan Day finds success against Miami, it’ll be hard for any defense to stop him from lifting another natty.