Finkle (Fickell) is Einhorn (Day)?
I have a strange feeling that this Day hire is similar to the Fickell hire a few years back. When the mess happened back in August the OSU admin needed to have the cleanest assistant take over those three games, not the best or most qualified. I could see the same happening here. Make Day a one year Luke Fickell special with the perception that he's cleaned up the program. Then you shop around for the long term.
Also, similarly how toxic will be the environment in Columbus post-Meyer? Obviously the arrest records can't match what happened under his watch in Gainesville and I don't think there is an Aaron Hernandez on the roster. But that element hast to persist to some extent. Will be interesting to see how that unfolds in the coming years.
Go blue. Beat Northwestern.
December 4th, 2018 at 11:17 AM ^
Not at all. Tressel was unexpectedly fired. OSU has had this in the works since summertime, or possibly earlier.
December 4th, 2018 at 12:45 PM ^
^ agreed. I think the day-long meetings before they announced his suspension were getting the departure timed/sorted out. I also think it explains why Shelley Meyer was crying so hard after OSU hammered us 10 days ago - she knew then it was their last game in Ohio Stadium. The Day replacement was something they sorted out as the season unfolded imho. Whatevs - on to the next story.
December 4th, 2018 at 1:18 PM ^
Has it only been 10 days? Feels like 50.
December 4th, 2018 at 2:10 PM ^
More like 62. What? Too soon?
December 4th, 2018 at 11:17 AM ^
Ha, no sooner (see what I did?) do I post this and there is news of Stoops interviewing....
December 4th, 2018 at 11:27 AM ^
One of the things I'm most interested in is will Day (assuming he's the HC next year) be able to keep Larry Johnson from retiring? He was supposedly wanting to retire before the current season.
December 4th, 2018 at 11:30 AM ^
This thread is...not good.
December 4th, 2018 at 11:34 AM ^
Naming Ryan Day as head coach would be an epic mistake. It's not the brand or even the recruiting talent that makes a program. It's the human capital, starting with the coaching staff.
Don't get me wrong, I hope Day is really their guy, but I would be surprised. (Yeah, Lincoln Reilly at OU and all that, but OU is just a few years away from being a Texas Tech style wreck with a good offense but nothing on the other side of the ball).
December 4th, 2018 at 11:46 AM ^
Um... thats exactly what Oklahoma is now except with way better players than Texas Tech ever had.
December 4th, 2018 at 11:37 AM ^
We've been hearing for a while that Day was in danger of being poached by other schools for their Head Coach positions. If they do stick with Day I don't see it being being temporary.
December 4th, 2018 at 11:39 AM ^
Day receives 5 year contract. I hope his 5 years are similar to the Fickell 1 year.
December 4th, 2018 at 3:12 PM ^
Kinda thought Fickell has turned out to be a pretty decent coach for Cinn. Although the year he was at OSU wasn't so hot
December 4th, 2018 at 11:42 AM ^
No sorry, that's not it. They are rolling with Day (as of now) for two reasons:
1. They honestly really, really like him a lot. There was a lot of chatter down here after Meyer came back and the Buckeye's were struggling that they played significantly better under Day. Not saying I agree with that assessment but it was quite prevelant.
2. They want to hold onto their recruiting class and believe opening up the hire will cause many to wander. Again, they believe that by naming Day now they will keep their stellar recruiting class in the fold.
Might shit come out down the road? We can only hope but that's not why this is happening.
December 4th, 2018 at 11:50 AM ^
I'll just add in that Meyer wouldn't have announced his retirement before the early signing day if they didn't have his replacement already lined up. That it's someone their recruits already know fits too.
December 4th, 2018 at 11:46 AM ^
I wonder which one of his current players is going to waste his NFL career by murdering someone.
December 4th, 2018 at 12:27 PM ^
5 year contract trumps Fickell interim tag by a minute or two.
December 4th, 2018 at 12:41 PM ^
The 5 year contract thing is meaningless. It is required if you are going to be able to recruit.
December 4th, 2018 at 12:50 PM ^
This seems more like what Oklahoma did except Urban is leaving because of all the shady stuff he did. Day is that young and up and comer like Lincoln Riley. It could work out. Who knows for sure until next season and the years after.
December 4th, 2018 at 12:51 PM ^
Naw, they go with Day. If after two full seasons he is not getting it done, then it will be on for a coach (Jim Hermann??), if he is, then we have our rival coach for the foreseeable future.
December 4th, 2018 at 1:59 PM ^
is that any relation to Tom Herman, or are you talking about the Colts LB coach?
December 4th, 2018 at 2:06 PM ^
Dammit, I was going to the EXACT same thing, but took too long to log in.
December 4th, 2018 at 4:27 PM ^
No, I don't think we should even entertain Fickell = Day.
This was an organized transition with a lot of deliberate steps, and indeed, Day was even named "coach-in-waiting" a couple months ago. Maybe in retrospect, that was a huge signal that this day was nearer than we thought at the time.
Fickell was the name in an awkward, somewhat panicky aftermath after the Tressel firing.