Mailbox: Ryan Day just an average coach in SEC; and what car did Woody Hayes really drive?

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Have more comments, questions? Reach out to me at bwhite1@dispatch.com.

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day watches during the spring football game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on April 16, 2022.
Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day watches during the spring football game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on April 16, 2022.

On Ryan Day's salary

To the editor: Ryan Day would be maybe the third- or fourth-best coach in the SEC. He coaches in the Big Pretend. He needs to win a national championship to deserve that kind of money.

Lee Brent

To Lee: You know those are fightin' and emailin' words in these parts, right? But ... maybe, just maybe, it will deflect the conversation slightly to Day's coaching and away from his salary.

To the editor: As Babe Ruth said when asked why he earned more than the president (Hoover) of the United States, "I had a better year."

Steve Noffke

To Steve: He did, indeed. Only sort of related, this quote by Hoover about baseball intrigues me when I think of those bemoaning the "kids" wanting more action in the game: "I want more runs in baseball itself. When you were raised on a sandlot, where the scores ran 23 to 61, you yearn for something more than a 5 to 2 score. You know as well as I do that the excitement, temperature and decibels of any big game today rise instantly when there is someone on base. It reaches ecstasy when somebody makes a run."

To the editor: If OSU paid him less, other schools would offer him more. You want to keep good coaches and not let the competition get him. The goal is a national championship. You don’t do that with average coaches. The best talent goes to the best coaches. Winning teams fill the stadium and the money rolls in.

So what if Ryan Day's pay is 22 times greater than the president's? He’s worth it.

Tom Boyert

Dear Editor: Coach Ryan Day’s salary continues to be discussed. I think that he is not wrong to have an employer paying him a lot of money to do a job that he loves. He has the qualities to succeed in the job. He is swift to take decisive actions in a white-hot environment that demands winning. He is forthright, controlled and personable with media and fans. As a revenue producer, he makes much more money for OSU than what he earns in salary and benefits. We could err to ask coach Day for a personal account of what he does with his take-home pay. Possibly, coach Day makes significant contributions to OSU to support academic programs, and significant cash donations to charities.

I am grateful for my multi-year residency in central Ohio. I am a fourth-generation graduate of Central Michigan and, like birds of a feather, I demonstrate good loyalty and fervor for all Chippewas. I think I understand the interconnecting issues at hand, and feel that I can believe and trust in the value of coaches like Ryan Day and Jim McElwain.

Paul R. Johnson, Worthington

On Woody Hayes' car

To Brian: I’ve noticed several times in The Dispatch that coach Hayes' car was a Chevy El Camino. The correct car was a Ford Ranchero. I rode with coach Hayes on our way to the Jai Lai Restaurant for a late lunch. It was late due to his being at the spring game. It was two hours of us talking all things other than football. As coach would often say, “ And of this, I am certain.“

Dan Cutillo

To Dan: A cursory glance reveals conflicting testimony as to the great mystery of what Hayes drove. Some, as you do, say it was a Ranchero. In fact, in a 2014 rivals.com article, former player Champ Henson tells of the time Hayes gave him the coach's Ranchero and $20 to buy something for his ailing mother (which seems, well, to be an NCAA rules violation, but we digress). Also Michael Rosenberg's book, "War As They Knew It: Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, and America in a Time of Unrest," there is a tale of a prospective coach waiting in Hayes' Ranchero. Solved, right? Well, Joe Menzer's  "Buckeye Madness: The Glorious, Tumultuous, Behind-the-Scenes Story of Ohio State Football" has a story of Hayes' El Camino with turf in back, and Jeff Snook's "Then Tress Said to Troy...: The Best Ohio State Football Stories Ever Told" (why do football books have such long titles, by the way?) tells of the same vehicle, adding that "Most years, he drove an old, beat-up El Camino, which is a far cry from the huge car deals that coaches have today." (That was in 2007, before backup QBs were getting car deals.)

On THE Ohio State

Hi  Brian: I saw where, after a three-year battle, OSU has been granted the right to use "THE" on apparel/merchandise. This must be really important, as it was a lead story on the 6 o'clock news, so I thought I would write a letter to "THE" Dispatch to get your take. You already know, Brian, not every sports fan in this country has endeared themselves to our Buckeyes. My own opinion is that it is simply one more happening for said fans to laugh at us, and/or further reinforce in their minds we have inflated egos. I guess time will tell when our football and basketball teams play road games this coming season.

Rick Higgins, Columbus

To Rick: Surely, THE school and its lawyers know THE grief the university, fans and players will take for this, right? I'm not sure I'm aware of any normal folks saying, "Well, good for them winning that battle." There must be a lot of cash coming the school's way for this to have remained a priority.

Phil Mickelson acknowledges spectators in the gallery during the third round of the inaugural LIV golf invitational golf tournament at the Centurion Club outside of London. Mandatory Credit: Paul Childs-Action Images/Reuters via USA TODAY Sports
Phil Mickelson acknowledges spectators in the gallery during the third round of the inaugural LIV golf invitational golf tournament at the Centurion Club outside of London. Mandatory Credit: Paul Childs-Action Images/Reuters via USA TODAY Sports

On golf

To the editor: As more professional golfers leave the PGA , I wonder what those innocent victims of Sept. 11 would think of what is taking place in our country. The name of the new Saudi backed league LIV is shameful to all those who died that day and all the scars left behind. Remember that 15 of the 19 terrorists were citizens of Saudi Arabia. The greed of money somehow will erase those terrible memories of that fateful day.

George Morris, Circleville 

Dear Editors: I used to think that collectively professional tour golfers were more altruistic than competitors in other sports. I was wrong. It is all about money. This is abundantly clear from the launch of the new LIV Golf league, the joyful players who have jumped shipped and the lack of outrage in response to these developments by the players who have chosen to stick within the framework of PGA participation and membership for the moment.

In light of these events, I suggest it would be apropos to discard golf's traditional measures of distance to the hole when the ball is in play, i.e. yards, feet and inches, and convert to the length of the dollar bill — 6.14" to be exact — as the new universal measurement. Also, I am sure software can be developed so that dollar values can be provided to the spectators of potential dollar impacts based on the quality or lack thereof each shot before the shots are made, and a final assigned at the outcome of each shot.  Let the public know these guys have no concerns except dollars and cents. As they finish their competitive rounds, their exclusive attention is to tabulate their earnings and astronomical appearance fees they are destined to receive. Thank you.

Frank A. Cellura, Grove City

To the editor: Money doesn't grow on trees, or fairways. Was intrigued by news of the PGA deciding they need to pay golfers more, including raising the pot for the Memorial. Where is this money coming from? They mention sponsors. Does that mean we will have to suffer through more commercials? Or will some of the Workday execs with eight-figure salaries get paid less to compensate the golfers? Short of their execs getting paid less, that means all costs are passed on to consumers. That little gecko doesn't seem so cute when you realize he is essentially taking consumers' hard-earned dollars and funneling it to multimillionaires.

Clark Leslie, New Concord

Hi Brian: I have never played golf, but I enjoy watching the pros play on TV. I certainly don't know all the rules, but one I have heard, which I always thought was carved in stone, is "play the ball where it lies."

Often, a player will hit a putt and miss, then walk over and place a marker next to his ball, pick the ball up, fondle it, put it right back down and pick up his marker. Why do they do that?  And why are they allowed to?

Also, do you have any idea who I should contact with a suggestion for a new rule? I want to propose that anyone in the gallery who shouts, "IN THE HOLE!" should be immediately ejected from the premises.

Mike Adamkosky, Columbus

To Mike: Yes, players are free to clean their golf balls once they reach the green. It doesn't seem to help me, though. ... And perhaps the Saudi league will invent such a rule where "Get in the hole!!!!" yellers are punished in some nice, humane, calm way.

A baseball rests on a high school baseball field.
A baseball rests on a high school baseball field.

On baseball

To Brian: When I drive by a park that has an empty old unkept ballfield and then see many soccer fields buzzing with lots of kids playing soccer, I have to wonder just how long it will be before the inevitability of baseball irrelevance becoming a reality. Baseball was penny wise and pound-foolish playing marquee games to finish well past bedtime for most kids who are now the adults taking their kids to soccer.

Dennis Singleton, Dayton

On the Golden State Warriors

To the editor: Congratulations to the Golden State Warriors on returning to the top and winning the 2022 NBA Finals! I’m so proud of this team and all they have accomplished. And congratulations to the Boston Celtics on a strong season.

Paul Bacon, Hallandale Beach, Fla.

More from The Mailbox

An apology to Ohio State coach Ryan Day, and kudos to him for taking the cash

Why does Ryan Day need that much money? And what would Woody Hayes think?

Debate continues over Ryan Day's salary as Ohio State Buckeyes coach

Defending Jack Nicklaus, and wondering why Ryan Day makes so much money

Nick Saban, Jimbo Fisher should know cheating in college football is not new

Strike 3 on foul ball will speed up baseball; and an appreciation of Bob Lanier

Want to speed up baseball? How about 'Ball three — take your base'?

An appreciation for three-legged dogs; and are college football rosters too big?

Ohio State should have asterisk removed; and did Quinn Ewers pay his taxes?

Reader longs for the days Ohio State Buckeyes football played a real spring game

Get more Ohio State news by listening to our podcasts

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Letters: Ryan Day an average coach in SEC