SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The affirmation might not have been strictly necessary. Ryan Day does not lack for confidence, and he has good reason for it. But when the text buzzed into his phone last August, it was welcomed – and it wasn’t even so much the message as the messenger.
Day had just been named Ohio State’s interim coach, tasked with guiding the Buckeyes through a very tenuous time while Urban Meyer was suspended. When Chip Kelly texted – “You’re built for this” – Day took it to heart.
“I just believed in it and kind of trusted it,” Day says, adding: “If you know Chip, he ain’t gonna text you if he doesn’t believe it.