Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has again found himself at the center of a ton of criticism following his fourth straight loss to Michigan this past weekend. And on Monday, first-year Syracuse Orange head coach Fran Brown took an opportunity to pile onto the criticism of Day when it comes to the decision to let Kyle McCord enter the transfer portal this offseason.
McCord, who of course played for Day at Ohio State from 2021-2023, also wasn’t able to get it done against Michigan last season as the starter. As a result, McCord was essentially scapegoated by Day and millions of Buckeyes fans. Day then all but pushed McCord out the door to the transfer portal in favor of Will Howard.
Fran Brown then jumped at the opportunity to bring in McCord to lead the new-look Syracuse Orange offense, a decision that has completely turned around the rather mediocre Syracuse program in recent years.
This season, McCord has been one of the best quarterbacks in the entire country, leading the FBS in passing yards on the season. The team success has also been there, highlighted by a program-defining win against the Miami Hurricanes on Saturday.
While Syracuse will likely come up just short of a CFP spot, it will nonetheless be the best season that the Syracuse football program has had since 2018. With a win in their bowl game, it would be just the third double-digit win season for Syracuse since 2000.
It may not be the National Championship season that Brown was hoping for in his first year as head coach of the program. But nonetheless, it is undoubtedly an excellent start to his tenure at Syracuse.
On Monday, Brown appeared on The Jim Rome Show to discuss his team’s success, praising Kyle Mccord and taking a jab at Ryan Day in the process for letting McCord walk.
“I’m excited, I’m really happy for him,” said Brown of McCord. “I’m happy for his family. It’s a big deal because he’s from New Jersey and I’m from New Jersey. So I’m just excited for our communities. Everyone down there represents him. But just the country to be able to see how good of a football player he is.
“It was kinda put out that he was the reason (for Ohio State’s shortcomings last season). So I guess after watching him win this weekend… I don’t know what happened to that piece. You know, you’re seeing the same results again, you can’t blame Kyle, correct? So I’m happy that Kyle was able to go and clear his name. Come here and show that he is a good quarterback.
“I got ridiculed for saying I wanted to send Ryan Day a bottle of champagne. I wasn’t being disrespectful, I was just saying this guy is the real deal and you guys let him come here. Great, thank you, I still owe him. I should send him some more. I should send him a f****** case, not even the bottle. Excuse my language, but I’m just extremely excited and thankful for Kyle.”
As Kyle McCord said on Saturday following Syracuse’s win and Ohio State’s loss, everything comes full circle… And clearly, Ryan Day has some soul searching to do regarding why they are unable to beat their rivals in Michigan, even when Michigan is undoubtedly in the midst of a down year.
That is if Day even has a job by the end of the season, as there have understandably been plenty of media pundits and fans alike calling for him to be fired following their Week 14 loss.