Tag: Ryan Day

Wisconsin’s Luke Fickell is one of On3’s top coaches in the Big Ten

Agree with Luke Fickell’s ranking?

The Wisconsin Badgers football head coach Luke Fickell was ranked in the top third of Big Ten coaches by On3’s Jesse Simonton on Tuesday.

Coming in as the sixth-best coach in the Big Ten in Simonton’s power rankings, Fickell sits behind Ryan Day (Ohio State – 1), James Franklin (Penn State – 4) and Kirk Ferentz (Iowa – 5) from the previous iteration of the conference. Also above him are newcomers Lincoln Riley (USC – 2) and Dan Lanning (Oregon – 3), who will officially be Big Ten coaches in 2024.

The Badgers team kicked off their spring practices this past Friday and the 2024 campaign will be the program’s second under Luke Fickell after a disappointing 7-6 record in 2023, including a 35-31 loss to LSU in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

Fickell still has a lot to prove at Wisconsin as the program looks to establish its place in the new era of the Big Ten. But he receives the benefit of the doubt nationally given his previous work at Cincinnati.

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Ohio State head coach Ryan Day responds to Tony Alford leaving to Michigan

Interesting answer from Day. #GoBucks

It is still shocking that [autotag]Tony Alford[/autotag] left the Ohio State football program and joined its main rival Michigan last week.

The Buckeye coaching staff may have had an idea that Alford was looking to move on, but not to Ann Arbor. With the fact that Ohio State had gone through two spring practices prior to his departure, it was interesting to see how head coach [autotag]Ryan Day[/autotag] would respond to the move.

Well, the Buckeye boss met with the media on Tuesday, and didn’t seem too concerned about information that Alford could bring with him to That Team Up North.

Day explained that the run game should look differently when they face each other in November, as they only “sprinkled a couple things that Chip (Kelly) has done.”

There are more than a few keys points to take away from Day’s statement. Staying on Alford’s move, who he didn’t specifically name, he didn’t seem too concerned about what the former Buckeye coach could divulge to the enemy.

More importantly, it seems like Day tipped his hand as to who could be the starting quarterback, or at least what style that we could see in the spring and fall. The fact that he expects his starter to run the ball is different than we have seen in years past.

Social media reacts to Tony Alford leaving Ohio State for Michigan
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Another big mention by Day was the use of “quarterback communication,” as now they can talk with the sidelines just like the NFL does, sort of. The rule hasn’t been passed for every conference, but there has been talk of it after multiple teams got a chance to use them during this past bowl season

The ACC approved the rule last month, with others most likely to follow. Great to see the Buckeyes preparing as if it will be approved in the Big Ten soon. 

Contact/Follow @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on X. 

Ranking the Big Ten head football coaches entering the 2024 season

Wisconsin has one of the best coaches in the conference

Coaching turnover ruled the offseason both in the Big Ten and across college football.

Many of the moves set off several dominoes, like Nick Saban retiring at Alabama, which then led to Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer taking the Alabama vacancy and Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch moving over to Washington.

Related: Which Big Ten football team has the toughest conference schedule in 2024?

All of these coaching changes — from Saban’s retirement, to Jim Harbaugh’s move to the NFL, to Jonathan Smith moving from Oregon State to Michigan State — have at least some effect on the Big Ten landscape. Whether it’s a direct move or triggers subsequent assistant movement, Wisconsin fans should be interested in the results of the coaching carousel.

Entering the 2024 season there are five new head coaches in the Big Ten (UCLA, Indiana, Washington, Michigan, Michigan State), plus the addition of USC’s Lincoln Riley and Oregon’s Dan Lanning. The coaching landscape looks a lot different than it did at this time a year ago.

So far this offseason we’ve ranked all 18 programs in the Big Ten, predicted each Big Ten team’s 2024 record and checked in on the Las Vegas win totals for each team in the conference.

Now, here are Badgers Wire’s official Big Ten head coach rankings entering the 2024 season:

College football’s top 10 highest-paid coaches in 2024

Steve Sarkisian lands at No. 3 with a $10.3M salary for the upcoming season.

Several college football coaches received raises and contract extensions this offseason. Continue reading “College football’s top 10 highest-paid coaches in 2024”

ESPN names Ryan Day as a coach that has the most to prove in 2024

Day has plenty to prove this coming fall

We all know the issues that Ohio State football head coach [autotag]Ryan Day[/autotag] has had over the past few seasons.

Three years in-a-row losing to Michigan while watching them win the College Football Playoff this past season. On top of that missing out on the CFP this past year, no Big Ten titles in those three seasons has many wondering what is wrong in Columbus.

One of those people is ESPN’s Bill Connelly, who named Day as his coach that has the most to prove in 2024. He mentioned that Ohio State “appear(s) to be going all-in this year as Michigan undergoes a massive turnover.”

Big Ten football recruiting classes ranked after national signing day
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Not only that, Connelly also says “the odds of success are high, but the perils of another year of missed expectations could be awfully damning.” He’s right on both ends, the Buckeyes have had a huge offseason with massive transfer additions and on the coaching staff.

However, what if it does go wrong. It could spell the end of the Day era, as this team is set up to win big this fall. Hopefully that’s not a conversation we are having come January of 2025.

Quarterback [autotag]Will Howard[/autotag] is also mentioned in the piece, as a transfer that has the most to prove. This time it was Adam Rittenberg who picked him, going on to say that “he doesn’t have to be the sole reason why Ohio State wins a national title, but he can’t be the reason the Buckeyes fall short, either.”

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Howard does have to follow the footsteps of the former 1st round picks, he just has to do his job and get the ball to the numerous playmakers on the Buckeye offense. If he does that, Ohio State should have a highly successful season.

Contact/Follow @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on X.

James Laurinaitis promoted to linebacker coach

James Laurinaitis promoted to linebacker coach #GoBucks

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind when talking about Ohio State football coaches coming and going and the most recent change has been announced. James Laurinaitis has officially been promoted to become the linebackers coach for the Buckeyes.

Laurinaitis spent this last season as a graduate assistant and it was also his first season in Columbus, Ohio, in that role. Still, it only took that one year for Ryan Day and company to pull the trigger and announce him as one of the ten full-time assistants on staff.

There was some slight worry that Laurinaitis may leave to the NFL as he interviewed with the Cleveland Browns, but that may have been the motivation Ohio State needed to give the former Buckeye All-American a full-time position.

Laurinaitis was given a two-year contract and will be taking over for Jim Knowles who was playing the role of defensive coordinator and linebacker coach.

Vegas win totals released for Wisconsin, every Big Ten team in 2024 football season

Surprised by Wisconsin’s 2024 win total?

Only 194 days separate us from the start of the 2024 college football season.

The year brings some continuity for the Wisconsin Badgers. Both head coach Luke Fickell and offensive coordinator Phil Longo are back for a second year leading the program. There are some differences for the Badgers, none bigger than Miami transfer Tyler Van Dyke starting under center.

The year brings a combination of promise for the Badgers paired with a brutal schedule.

For the Big Ten as a whole, there are significant changes. USC, UCLA Oregon and Washington enter a conference structure that no longer includes divisions. The interest in the conference should rise, along with the competition level for schools such as Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska.

We have already power-ranked every program in the Big Ten Conference and predicted the win-loss record of each team in 2024.

Here are FanDuel Sportsbook‘s newly released win totals for every Big Ten team entering 2024:

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Ohio State seems to have already found its replacement for offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien

That was quick for Day to find a replacement for O’Brien

It didn’t take long for Ohio State head coach [autotag]Ryan Day[/autotag] to find a replacement for [autotag]Bill O’Brien[/autotag], who earlier on Friday reportedly was taking the head coaching position at Boston College.

In less than an hour after the news broke that O’Brien was moving on, The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman broke the story that UCLA head coach [autotag]Chip Kelly[/autotag] would be taking over the vacant spot.

Kelly was in talks with NFL teams as well, as it was fairly clear that his time in Los Angeles was coming to a close. The door appears to be closed now, as Day reunites with his former offensive coordinator when he was playing quarterback for New Hampshire.

The hire falls in line with what Day was looking for out of his offensive coordinator, someone who has a lot of play-calling experience. Kelly has had stints at the head coach at Oregon and UCLA while also having the same role in the NFL with Philadelphia and San Francisco. Having a previous relationship surely helped the two get back together as well.

Contact/Follow @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on X.

Decorated Big Ten head coach leaves for Ohio State offensive coordinator job

Decorated Big Ten head coach leaves for Ohio State offensive coordinator job

UCLA head coach Chip Kelly is leaving to take the vacant offensive coordinator job at Ohio State, according to The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman.

This move takes place after a myriad of dominoes fell throughout the offseason. First, Patriots offensive coordinator and former Texans and Penn State head coach Bill O’Brien left the NFL to take the Ohio State offensive coordinator job. Then, Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley surprisingly jumped to the NFL to take the Green Bay Packers vacant defensive coordinator job. Finally, O’Brien jumped from Ohio State to Boston College to take its vacancy.

Related: Where Wisconsin Badgers stand in first expanded Big Ten 2024 recruiting rankings

This left Ohio State without an offensive coordinator entering spring practice. Enter Kelly, who was almost fired from UCLA last year and was clearly on thin ice entering 2024. He had previously flirted with several NFL coordinator jobs before now landing this one — arguably one of the best coordinator jobs in the country.

Kelly is an accomplished coach with a stellar run at Oregon from 2009-2012, a tumultuous regime with the Philadelphia Eagles from 2013-2015, one year in San Francisco with the 49ers and a solid run at UCLA from 2018-2023.

It is an interesting hire for Ohio State head coach Ryan Day, who reportedly is now taking a step back from calling the offensive side of the ball. Day needs a splash, especially after Michigan’s three straight conference titles and recent National Championship.

Kelly feels like a potential splash-type hire.

Bill O’Brien reportedly leaving Ohio State after an extremely short tenure

Is this surprising that O’Brien might be leaving before even really beginning? #GoBucks

The writing on the wall for recently hired Ohio State offensive coordinator [autotag]Bill O’Brien[/autotag] to return home to the Boston area and become Boston College’s next head coach has been going on for over a week now.

All the rumors seem to have come to fruition on Friday morning, as ESPN’s Pete Thamel first reported that O’Brien was working with BC to become its next leader. Part of the reasoning was to be able to get better care for his son.

As for the Buckeyes, it seems like this is the first time all offseason that they have received bad news, as O’Brien will never coach a game in Columbus. It’s back to the drawing board for [autotag]Ryan Day[/autotag], who recently said that he would give up his play-calling duties for the right fit at offensive coordinator.

Since its getting later in the coaching carousel, it may be hard for Day to find another elite choice as his offensive coordinator. With all the talent that Ohio State is returning, the hope might be to lure someone who already has a job with another team to Columbus.

Contact/Follow @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on X.