There have been plenty of tests along the way for Ryan Day in his first year as the Ohio State head coach but to this point the Buckeyes have figured each one of them out on the way to a 13-0 record and a berth in the College Football Playoff.

Now Day is going to be faced with his first coaching vacancy with the departure of Jeff Hafley to Boston College to take over as head coach.

Nobody should be shocked that Hafley’s time in Columbus was short but people may be surprised that it ended after just one season.

Don’t forget that Day made several coaching hires upon being named head coach at Ohio State with five new coaches joining the staff with one on offense and four on defense, that number including Hafley.

With the news of Hafley’s departure still fresh, it may be a little early to have a full accounting of all of the coaches who may be considered for the vacancy, but we are going to take a stab with a way-too-early hot board with a couple of calls that Day will make and maybe a couple of reaches.

Remember, who was talking about Jeff Hafley before he was named. Everyone was focused on Corey Raymond out of LSU and things worked out just fine for the Buckeyes.

Who is he? Ohio State fans are very aware of who Chris Ash is as he served the role of co-DC and safeties coach over the 2014 and 2015 seasons. He then went to Rutgers for a less than memorable run as head coach of the Scarlet Knights where his teams finished with an overall record of 8-32. Ash was relieved of his coaching duties at the end of September 2019. Ash is still considered a young man in the coaching ranks at the age of 45 but has been coaching since the late 1990s and is well-respected in the coaching world, regardless of some of the challenges that he faced at Rutgers over the past three-plus seasons.

Why him? Let's just say that the Buckeyes are well aware of what Ash is capable of doing. Ash was pivotal in bringing 'rugby tackling' to Ohio State and the Buckeyes went from one of the worst tackling teams in the sport to one of the best under Ash's watch. Of course there is the question if Ash would be able to work within the scheme that Ohio State is running under Greg Mattison. Ash will not be without a job for long but it is interesting to see him still not signing on at another school with the potential of a spot opening up at Ohio State as Hafley was not only mentioned as a candidate at Boston College.

Got a shot? It certainly would seem as if this could be a good marriage if an agreement could be reached in terms of what the defensive look would be moving forward. For those wondering about Ash being able to go back to a coordinator role, that is going to be the next job, regardless of wherever he lands. Of course, at Ohio State it would end up being a co-DC position and while the Buckeyes would not be beat out in terms of a compensation standpoint, but will Ash feel that he would have enough control of the defensive scheme to be fulfilled? Of all the candidates, this is the one that seems to have the clearest path, which does not always mean that this is the one that will work out, but he is still one to watch closely.