If there’s an Achilees Heel to sports fandom, it’s that it loves indulging in subjective hypotheticals and pipedreams more than the objective, factual reality. But what if reality itself is so incomprehensible, it feels like make-believe? Walk through this very real plotline which, quite frankly, would’ve been unfathomable about 4 months ago. A plotline that could circle around to sting its antagonist, Ryan Day, 4 months from now come fall.
You’re one of the 3 highest-paid defensive coordinators in the country. At a perennial contender, a blueblood synonymous with success. You’re no spring chicken either, so familiarity, comfort and job security conventionally take precedence over change, chaos and uncertainty. Oh, and you’ve just won the National Championship. Completed your tryst with College Football after coaching the sport across 5 decades. Forever etched in the annals of said blueblood program. Do you leave? Especially to a conference rival? Turns out you do if you’re Jim Knowles. The now Penn State defensive coordinator’s inexplicable exit from Ohio State (at the time, at least) left HC Ryan Day in a precarious position. He’s been maintaining balance since, but the scales may just have been tipped against his favor. Jim Knowles has spilled the beans in State College, and made a mess in Columbus. A couple of analysts are picking the pieces.
When Jim Knowles initially announced he’s joining Penn State, there was an immediate flurry of reports and rumours why. The primary reason was alleged to be friction with veteran D-line coach Larry Johnson. Sparing the intricacies, the problem was said to stem from them wanting different strategies and schematics for the defense. Knowles insisted on a 3-personnel defensive line with more troops on the linebacker corps. and secondary. Johnson, naturally, wanted more bodies on his unit. The friction may well have been a factor, but it’s now apparent that it wasn’t the main one. Jim Knowles has revealed he left Ryan Day’s staff because of a contract dispute. The timing and nature of which allegedly made Coach Day go as far as barring him from the championship parade. In the aftermath of this revelation, Blake Ruffino and Joe DeLeone discussed the ugly optics and potential outcome of this.
Ryan Day’s hire to succeed Jim Knowles, Super Bowl-winning DC Matt Patricia, became the focal point of the discourse. Speaking over “The Ruffino & Joe Show”, Blake Ruffino delved into what the result of not giving Knowles a contract extension and letting him walk could mean for the ‘25 season and beyond. “Ryan Day and [Ohio State] not getting this done might come back and bite them in the rear end. I mean, I don’t think that Matt Patricia is going to be a bad DC. I don’t. But there also comes a place and time where I ask, ‘What if that does go bad?’…[If] Patricia isn’t good, then you’re like, ‘Ryan, what were you doing!’” he resounded.
Knowles allegedly escalated his contract talks with the OSU brass right before the Natty. To do so before the biggest game of their careers wasn’t very timely, and is what seemingly rubbed Ryan Day the wrong way. Ruffino added, “I wouldn’t have kept him either. But at the same time, it’s their fault. Let’s not act as if that Ohio State is blameless at any given moment.” His co-host DeLeone concurred with the overall sentiment. But he’s leaning more towards Knowles’ departure being Ryan Day and the Buckeyes’ fault. “I do think that Ryan Day is on the wrong side of this. I thought the Patricia hire was a great hire [and] was one of the few people who supported it. [But] generally, this kind of, you know, screams to me that they mishandled it,” he remarked. The consequences boil down to being pretty black or white.
If Matt Patricia’s defense manages to pick up the slack and he reciprocates his $7.5 million contract, Ryan Day can put this ordeal in the rear-view mirror. But if the defense, still featuring argubly the best defensive player in the sport Caleb Downs, has a staggering downturn, then the decision blows up in his face. With all this said, let’s address the elephant in the room. What did Jim Knowles precisely say to bring this sort of heat on his former employers and Ryan Day?
Jim Knowles deflects any animosity from the Ohio State faithful right towards Ryan Day
Jim Knowles, after months of essentially being radio silent on this matter, finally opened up. In an interview with ESPN, he elaborately told his side of the story of how his exit from OSU came about. The operative word here being ‘his’ side. Coach Knowles claimed he “would not have explored or considered other options” had Ohio State met his demands. He also acknowledged how things became “awkward” in the building and, vicariously, with Ryan Day. “Season’s over, everything coming to a head again quickly,” Knowles said. “Ohio State hasn’t come forward with a deal, and it’s like, OK, if I’m going to act on this or at least explore it, I have got to make the call.”
“Maybe I’ll take less because Ohio State’s a great place,” Knowles added. “But then they asked me not to come to the parade. So then you’re like, ‘OK, honestly, the writing is on the wall.’ Now it becomes something…I hadn’t made any decisions,” As aforementioned, the reason he was asked by Ryan Day and co. to stay away from the parade is said to be the alleged timing of his demands. Right at the cusp of the Natty, in the midst of the playoff run.
Jim Knowles proceeded to say, “Ohio State didn’t want to do it. And so, then all of a sudden, it becomes a rush at that point. Because people are trying to make decisions on other jobs. They want to know whether you’re interested or not.” Penn State HC James Franklin has previously stated they were “pretty far along” in their search for a new DC when Coach Knowles became available. Alas, all parties have made their beds and shall lie in them. What comes of this switch within the Big 10 remains to be seen. There’s some hostility on both sides, but there’s also a mutual respect for what was achieved together. This underlying story beat will only accentuate the occasion when these two teams clash on November 1 at the Shoe.
The post Ryan Day Warned of $7.5M Blunder as Jim Knowles’ Raw Confession Exposes Ohio State HC’s Double Standard appeared first on EssentiallySports.
