Ohio State Athletic Director Ross Bjork officially graded football head coach Ryan Day as “Exceeds Expectations” in his latest annual performance review. Day has been Ohio State’s head coach since 2019, building a strong 85-13 overall record with consistent top-tier recruiting classes and playoff appearances. The evaluation, which covered the 2025–26 academic year, sheds light on how the university views its football program behind closed doors.

Ohio State went 12–0 in the regular season but suffered back-to-back losses in the Big Ten Championship and the College Football Playoff quarterfinal. For a program with a multi-million-dollar roster expectation, failing to reach the semifinal or win a conference title while receiving a top-tier “Exceeds Expectations” rating is quite surprising and generous for an OSU head coach. The administration views Day not just as a guy drawing up plays, but as the true chief executive of a massive football empire.

The review, which came to light through a public records request, was packed with incredibly high praise for Day’s leadership style. The evaluation was completed in late September 2026, covering Day’s work through the end of the previous academic year. Because Ohio State is a public university, its employee evaluations are open to the public under state record laws.

“Coach Day’s leadership continues to transcend Ohio State and the game of college football on all levels,” Bjork wrote in his annual review. “He has developed and evolved into one of the leading voices of the sport and has kept Ohio State football at the forefront while also navigating the rapid changes impacting college sports.

The culture of our program is as strong as it has ever been, a testament to his leadership and attention to detail. The coaching staff he has assembled and the program structure in place allow him to truly be the “CEO of Ohio State University Football,” and this organizational set-up is critical to our success moving forward.”

He went on to praise Day as a leading national voice who safely guided the Buckeyes through the world of modern college sports. According to the athletic director, the current coaching staff and organizational setup are exactly what the school needs to keep winning long-term.

On the field, the 2025 season was a wild ride that came incredibly close to perfection. The Buckeyes rolled through a flawless 12-0 regular season and, most importantly for the fanbase, took care of business in the legendary rivalry game against Michigan after losing to them in their 4 previous meetings.

However, things stalled out in the postseason with back-to-back losses to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship and Miami in the College Football Playoff. Despite those crushing defeats, Bjork strongly defended the team’s talent.

“Coach Day continues to operate the most consistent program in the country over the last 25 years at the highest level, and although we fell short of a championship in 2025, we had the best team all season long and unfortunately did not finish the way we expected.” Bjork wrote.

Beyond the wins and losses, the review focused heavily on the incredible off-field culture Ryan Day has built in Columbus. The football program managed to put up a record-setting team GPA alongside a third straight year of a perfect 1,000 Academic Progress Rate (APR) score. Bjork pointed out that Day’s focus on recruiting great students and solid people really shows up in the overall social behavior of the team. In the eyes of the athletic department, these academic victories are just as important as winning on Saturdays.

Of course, this is Ohio State, and everyone knows that the absolute standard is winning Big Ten and National Championships. The review didn’t shy away from that heavy reality. Bjork noted that both he and Day completely understand and embrace these massive expectations.

He promised that the athletic department will keep working hand-in-hand with the coaching staff to make sure the program hits that elite standard of excellence in every single phase moving forward.

“I truly enjoy working with Coach Day and will support him in all aspects moving forward.”

Not everybody is agreeing with this

Once the review went public, the internet did what the internet does, and Ohio State fans had plenty of thoughts. Over on platforms like X, the reaction from the Buckeye faithful was a bit mixed.

Some critics argued that calling a team that didn’t win a championship the “best team all season” is a bit embarrassing.

Others chimed in to claim the 12-0 regular-season record was mostly a byproduct of a soft schedule, proving that a portion of the fanbase remains incredibly hard to please.

At the end of the day, this performance review proves that Ohio State values stability and program health just as much as hardware. While the fans might be losing patience over the lack of a recent national championship trophy, Ross Bjork is looking at the bigger picture.

By labeling Day’s performance as exceeding expectations, the Buckeyes are signaling that they believe their breakthrough moment is right around the corner.