Ryan Day left out of CFB analyst's top 10 HC list despite winning National Championship

Coach Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes won the National Championship in January against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The win silenced Day's doubters after a narrative was built that Day was not capable of leading a team to wins over other top-five teams.

There are still some who do not think he is the top coach in college football. Notably, CFB analyst Brandon Walker did not have him in the top spot when he released a list of his top 10 head coaches heading into the 2025 season.

"My top ten current coaches in college football heading into 2025 season."

1. Kirby Smart, Georgia
2. Ryan Day, Ohio State
3. Steve Sarkisian, Texas
4. Dan Lanning, Oregon
5. Dabo Swinney, Clemson
6. Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame
7. Josh Heupel, Tennessee
8. James Franklin, Penn State
9. Curt Cignetti, Indiana
10. Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State

Kirby Smart edges out Ryan Day for the top spot on Brandon Walker's list of the top 10 college football coaches

Based on Ryan Day's resume, it is hard to argue that he should be above Kirby Smart.

Day has coached the Ohio State Buckeyes for six seasons, leading them to strong regular seasons each year. However, he has only won two conference championships in three appearances. His crowing achievement is the National Championship win this season, but otherwise, his tenure has been relatively underwhelming at Ohio State.

Conversely, Smart has been the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs since the 2016 season. He had two poor seasons where his team has had less than 10 wins. Every other season, his team has at least qualified for the conference championship game.

In Smart's tenure as Bulldogs head coach, he has led his team to three SEC Championships (2017, 2022 and 2024) and two National Championships (2021 and 2022).

So, until Day wins another championship, it is hard to argue that he should rank ahead of Smart.