ESPN recently cited some college football head coaches who could be on the hot seat heading into the 2024 season (subscription required), which included a couple of current Big Ten coaches.
Senior college football writer Adam Rittenberg, who included Ohio State head coach Ryan Day as one coach who could see his job security become compromised if he isn’t able to answer some major big game question marks that have plagued him over the last couple of years.
Here is what Rittenberg had to say about Coach Day:
I’m not going to put a coach with a 56-8 overall record squarely on the hot seat. But after three straight losses to Michigan, no national championships, a new athletic director taking over (Ross Bjork) and Ohio State’s all-in approach with personnel this winter, Day faces genuine pressure to win big in 2024. The scenarios are801 fascinating: What if he beats Michigan but loses early in the CFP? What if he loses to Michigan and makes a deep CFP run? A fourth straight loss to the Wolverines – especially against a likely weakened Michigan team, and once again at Ohio Stadium – would be difficult for Day to overcome, despite all of the clear accomplishments he has had with the Buckeyes.
So obviously, this Ryan Day situation is more of a cautionary tale depending on how the 2024 season unfolds. There isn’t anything to worry about right now, but a lot to monitor moving forward.
Rittenberg also discussed a couple of college coaches who may be on retirement watch shortly. One that was included was longtime Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz.
Here is what Rittenberg had to say about Coach Ferentz and his future with the program:
Ferentz, entering his 26th season with Iowa, is college football’s longest-tenured coach by six seasons, and will turn 69 on Aug. 1. He’s in good health and likely can coach as long as he wants at Iowa, which in early 2022 extended his contract through the 2029 season. Iowa has been a steady winner but faces a tougher path to continued success in the expanded Big Ten. Ferentz went through an emotionally taxing 2023 season in which his son, Hawkeyes offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz, was fired. “Every job has got things that cause frustration, so this is kind of the way it is,” Kirk Ferentz told ESPN in November. “And it’s for you to determine where that line is and make the determination from there. I feel great. I love what I do. And more importantly, I love the people I’m around.”
A lot of this potential movement could gain momentum, or fizzle depending on this upcoming 2024 season. The early look suggests that impending movement in the Big Ten conference could be imminent.