The Athletic slights Ohio State coach Ryan Day in Tier rankings

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Sometimes you read things or see something that really makes you scratch your head. Consider this one of them from "The Athletic." Writer Chris Vannini was tasked with creating college football coaching tiers (a subscription may be required), and where he slotted Ohio State head coach Ryan Day is, well … interesting.

Thought of by most in the national media as one of the best coaches in college football and often slotted with the best, Day was dropped below in an entirely different tier than those Vannini put in his Tier 1. We'll start there, I guess. In Tier 1, Vannini has just two coaches: Georgia's Kirby Smart and Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti. Day is firmly (we suppose) in Tier 2, but when you see the company of "established winners" in that Tier, you might give it a sideways glance. With Day in a tier below are head coaches like Steve Sarkisian (Texas), Kyle Whittingham (Michigan), Lane Kiffin (LSU), Dan Lanning (Oregon), Kalen DeBoer (Alabama), and — wait for it — James Franklin (Virginia Tech). The only name in Tier 2 with a national championship is Clemson's Dabo Swinney, and we know where that program has fallen.

Look, these things are all opinion-based, but Vannini's reasoning for putting Day in Tier 2 is pretty comical.

“Ryan Day has a national championship, but he’s not in the top tier because Ohio State’s expectations and resources are so, so high. His two predecessors also won national titles, and Jim Tressel played for three,” Vannini wrote. “Day has done what is expected of him. A second title to match Smart would have him into the top tier.”

Okay, maybe, just maybe, Ohio State should get credit for making good hires. Food for thought; Texas and Alabama have the same type of deep expectations and resources OSU has, and neither Sarkisian nor DeBoer have yet been able to reach the summit. You could argue that Alabama is sliding fast under DeBoer. Reminder: It is extremely hard to win a national title. Day has the Buckeyes in a great spot and annually contending for national titles, developing talent for the NFL at a rate no other program has over a substantial period of time, and graduating his players. He's doing what nobody else is.

That's Tier 1 status, if anything ever is.

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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: The Athletic slights Ohio State coach Ryan Day in Tier rankings

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