Why Buckeye fans should think twice before calling for Ryan Day's head over Michigan loss

Ada resident Justin Marks, a newly admitted Ohio attorney, is the 2023 winner of the New Civil Liberties Alliance Student Note Competition.

Ohio State's 30 to 24 loss to Michigan Saturday was more than just a loss.

It marked the third year in a row that the Buckeyes fell to the Wolverines.

Since that loss, some have called for Ohio State Coach Ryan Day’s firing. After all, three losses in a row to "that team up north" had been unheard of in recent years. The frustration is understandable.

But suppose we looked at the Buckeyes and Coach Ryan Day via comparative analysis with the Cleveland Browns and federal politics.

What the Buckeyes can learn from the Browns about greener grass

In 2022, the Cleveland Browns signed embattled quarterback Deshaun Watson to a five-year $230 million contract.

Shortly after, the Browns traded quarterback Baker Mayfield to the Carolina Panthers. This, after Mayfield compiled – with all things considered – a lackluster but stable 30-30 record.

Mayfield was no Tom Brady, but neither was he Johnny Manziel.

Statistically speaking, Mayfield is one of the best Browns quarterbacks in decades. Since the Browns signed Watson, and after his eleven-game suspension, he is 8-4, and this year had one of the top defenses in the league.

However, he will not play for the rest of the season due to injury. The grass is not always greener on the other side.

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Compare the Browns example to the idea that Ryan Day should lose his job. Day is 56-7 since taking the reigns as the Buckeyes head coach. That is certainly an astounding record, yet some in the masses cannot get over a three-game losing streak to rival Michigan. But we shouldn’t forget that football is a team sport with scores of players and an abundance of coaches.

Suppose then that just as Mayfield’s supposed lackluster Cleveland record was not necessarily his fault, Ohio State’s current losing streak against Michigan is not necessarily Day's fault.

Should people really suggest the Buckeyes ditch Day and get their Watson?

The grass is not always greener on the other side.

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What the Ohio State Buckeye has to do with hot tea and The House?

Near our founding, George Washington told Thomas Jefferson that the Senate was the “saucer” to cool the “hot tea” of the House.

Similarly, James Madison thought the Senate would cure the “fickleness and passion” of the House.

To better explain this, generally, representatives in the House serving two-year terms are more connected to their electorate because the reps are plentiful and represent smaller voting bodies.

Conversely, senators serving six-year terms are more indirectly connected to their electorate. There are only two for each state.

The House hears more directly from its electorate and decides accordingly, hoping for greener grass, to calm their constituents and maintain viability as candidates for reelection.

Meanwhile, the Senate takes the House’s response and lets it “cool.”

The House’s decisions driven by raucous masses are tempered by the Senate’s objective, long-term view, whose members have less pressure than the two-year election cycle creates for the House.

Theoretically, this should promote a stable government without the whiplash that would otherwise occur.

As it relates to the Buckeyes, some fans are now acting as “The House.”

Fans recognize that a three-game losing streak to TTUN is a “problem,” having witnessed it first-hand.

Presumably, the fans’ football-driven ego is at risk. But rather than knee-jerk reactions –a resort to “fickleness and passion” – perhaps “The House” of football fans should become or hand it over to “The Senate,” and cool down.

You can learn a lot from the Cleveland Browns. And you can make Washington and Madison proud.

The grass is not always greener on the other side, especially when the coach has a 56-7 record.

Ada resident Justin Marks, a newly admitted Ohio attorney, is the 2023 winner of the New Civil Liberties Alliance Student Note Competition.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Why Ohio State firing Ryan Day over Michigan would be ridiculous