Ryan Day's Wife Says Ohio State's Loss To Michigan Brought Family Closer Together
Ohio State is set to face off against Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday night. But it hasn't been all smooth sailing for Ryan Day and the Buckeyes.
Ohio State lost its final game of the regular season against a far-inferior Michigan team — Day's fourth-straight loss to the Buckeyes' most hated rival. And despite the fact that Ohio State still finished 10-2 and punched its ticket to the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff, fans were calling for Day to lose his job.
Ryan Day faced intense backlash after his fourth-straight loss to Michigan.
(Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)
ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit, who is friends with Day, explained that the head coach and his family suffered harassment and even death threats following the Nov. 30 loss to Michigan.
"He and I talk on a regular basis about more than just football, so I hear things that he and his family go through. Especially Nina, his wife. His son, who gets death threats from multiple, multiple people. And what it’s doing to them as a family," Herbstreit said.
"When I hear that, it really frustrates me that he has to deal with putting an armed guard outside his house 24/7 for his own fanbase. That hurts my heart that that is a reality for the Ohio State coach."
RELATED: Urban Meyer Defends Ohio State Fans That Kirk Herbstreit Labeled ‘Lunatic Fringe’
Wife Of Ryan Day Discusses Ohio State Rebound
Following the disappointing loss, Day's wife, Nina Day, said she noticed a shift in the head coach.
"The morning after we lost to the Team Up North, there was a different look in his eye," Nina told CBS 10 Columbus. "He got up, and he just looked at me, and he's like 'I have no other choice but to fight my way out of this.' That's all he's done is fight himself out of it. He's swinging as hard as he can."
She's not wrong. Ohio State completely dominated in its first two playoff games against Tennessee and Oregon before taking down Texas in the Cotton Bowl to earn a spot in the National Championship.
"We never stopped believing. We just all leaned on each other and just kept fighting," Nina said. "There are really hard times, but I think you figure out who you are in those times of adversity."
Ryan Day celebrates with his family after winning the Big 10 Championship in 2019.
(Photo by Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
In fact, Nina believes the loss to Michigan — and the subsequent backlash — actually brought her family closer together.
"The greatest thing for our family is that our children saw [Ryan] fail. They saw a lot of people come at their dad. They saw a lot of people attack him and attack our family," Nina explained. "And I think for them to see him fight the way that he has, not back down and continue believing in his players and his coaches and staying steady, I think it was really wonderful to see my kids see him win these last three games [in the Playoff]."
While Ohio State may have bonced back from the loss to Michigan, the pressure is not yet off of Ryan Day. The Buckeyes are 8.5-point favorites against The Fighting Irish on Monday. In other words, fans expect to win this game.
And if they don't, well, it might be a long off-season for the head coach.