Ryan Day Not Planning to Leave Ohio State Despite Reported Bears Interest

Ohio State football head coach Ryan Day had been rumored to be drawing interest from the Chicago Bears for their head coach opening, but Day plans on staying put.

During an interview with the Big Ten Network on Wednesday, Day reiterated that he's not interested in jumping to the NFL and plans on remaining the coach of the Buckeyes for the foreseeable future.

"I love Ohio State. I love this place," Day said, per Dan Hope of Eleven Warriors. "My family loves it here. I tell recruits all the time, if I was to go take another job, I'd be going by myself because my family's not leaving Columbus. And that's the truth. They love it here."

Day is the second Big Ten head coach to decide to stay in the college ranks on Wednesday. Jim Harbaugh reportedly told Michigan that he will be returning for the 2022 season after he had interviewed with the Minnesota Vikings.

The Buckeyes went 11-2 last season. They ended the year with a victory in the Rose Bowl over Utah.

In three-plus seasons, Day has coached Ohio State to a 34-4 record. Day acknowledged that the rumors of his NFL prospects were not unexpected after his success at Ohio State.

"In this profession, in this world right now, if you're not winning, they're going to talk about replacing you," he said. "If you do well, they're going to talk about maybe you going somewhere else."

Day reiterated that he is fully committed to continuing to build the football program at Ohio State and that won't change anytime soon.

"We're very proud of our culture. And guys like to be here. And we think that we've recruited really well," Day said. "We have some really good talent, so the future is extremely bright here. We’ve brought in great people. So this is the best place in the country to be the head football coach. I love it here."