Video: Nick Saban calls criticism of Ohio State’s Ryan Day ‘Absolutely ridiculous’ | News, results, highlights, stats and rumours

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ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 19: Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day speaks to the media during the CFP National Championship Head Coaches News Conference at the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel on January 19, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo: Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)

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Former Alabama head coach and current ESPN analyst Nick Saban offered an impassioned defense of Ohio State head coach Ryan Day on Monday.

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“I think it’s absolutely ridiculous that Ryan Day has been criticized the way he has.”
Nick Saban sounds off on Ohio State HC’s critics pic.twitter.com/aLrLCKHCpY

“Having been a coach — having coached in the state and lived in the state for 12 or 14 years — I tell you, when the fans are negative and the media is negative, it affects so many things,” he said. College GameDay. “You’ve got to give the guy credit, he built the guard. He’s been building the guard for three years and it’s gotten better. His coaches have made the players better. And they’ve made a lot of improvements and they’ve overcome adversity, especially in the Michigan game, so we should give the man credit.”

For the record, Saban spent a number of years in Ohio as a coach. He began his coaching career at Kent State as a graduate assistant (1973-74) and linebackers coach (1975-76), spent two seasons at Ohio State as secondary coach (1980-81), was the head coach at Toledo in 1990 and was the defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns between 1991-94.

His most famous stops, of course, came as head coaches at Michigan State, LSU, the Miami Dolphins and Alabama.

Given his experience, he has a unique perspective on the subject, so some sympathy for Day isn’t surprising, especially after the Ohio State head coach was the subject of tremendous criticism following the Buckeyes’ 13-10 loss to the Wolverines in late November. It handed Ohio State its second loss of the season, kept the Buckeyes out of the Big Ten Championship Game and was Day’s fourth loss to Michigan in his five meetings.

Those ready to see him fired pointed to his struggles against the school’s most hated rival and an inability to win a national championship despite a consistent abundance of talent. Those who continued to defend him noted that he brought the star players on board in the first place and suggested that the championship-or-bust mentality at Ohio State was both unrealistic and toxic.

Day is 69-10 overall as Ohio State’s head coach and has since led the Buckeyes to the College Football Playoff Championship game against Notre Dame, silencing his critics for now. Saban believes, for one, that Day has earned far more respect than he often received in Columbus.