As a resident of Ohio and not a Buckeye fan, it’s easy to get overloaded on Buckeye news.
On Monday when Urban Meyer replaced Jim Tressel (or Luke Fickell) as the OSU coach, the news was fed to us at a gluttonous pace.
My partner at Eye and Eer, Phil Shie, is the Ohio State half of our blog, and he couldn’t get enough Urban news (and he still can’t).
So it didn’t take much persuading to have Phil answer a few questions about the Buckeyes’ new guy.
1. Ohio State may have lost to Michigan on Saturday, but on Monday it was like a big breath of fresh air for the Buckeyes. Were you surprised with how quickly everyone cheered up after a loss to the Wolverines?
Not really a surprise since the Meyer stories have been floating around Columbus for the past three weeks anyway. With this season already a mess at 6-6, most Buckeye fans were looking forward anyway. And it doesn’t hurt that Michigan’s win was the first in seven years. That makes it a little easier to take.
2. Can you explain why Urban Meyer will be a good fit for Ohio State?
I could give you a lengthy explanation about his Ohio roots, his love of Ohio State, how former Ohio State coach Earle Bruce is his mentor, etc. etc. But here’s why he’s a good fit: Meyer wins. Ohio State fans expect to win. Match made in heaven.
3. What would be your biggest concerns about bringing in a coach who has admitted to getting burned out and not wanting to allow that to happen again?
Certainly there’s a question as to how long Meyer’s tenure at Ohio State will last. Florida is a tough place, but OSU is a whole different animal as far as pressure cookers go. For a guy who struggles to deal with stress, it may not be the best fit. But Meyer seems to have a plan in place. Whether it works or not – we’ll see. If Ohio State is looking for a new coach in three years then this whole thing was a massive failure.
4. Ohio State seemed to bet the farm on getting Urban Meyer as its next head coach. How disappointing would it have been if he had turned them down, and who would have been the next logical pick?
Ohio State fans would have been crushed if Meyer didn’t get the gig. There really was no Plan B although I’ve heard names such as Houston’s Kevin Sumlin and Nebraska’s Bo Pelini were at least considered, although I can’t say either of them would have been interested. But anyone other than Meyer would have faced a massive uphilll climb against negative fan reaction and tough recruiting battles. Maybe that’s why the Meyer hire is so huge – because anyone else would have been a disaster.
5. I know his coaching staff has not come together yet, but we do know that Luke Fickell is going to remain on the staff and the Ohio State administration has said the money will be available to go out and get who Urban needs to be successful. Who are some of the people you are hearing might make up his coaching staff?
Defensively, former Arizona coach Mike Stoops is the primary name for the defensive coordinator’s role, although Temple DC Chuck Heater is out there as well. Florida LB coach D.J. Durkin has been prominently mentioned as well.
Offensively, LSU OL and coordinator Greg Studrawa has been mentioned often although coming off this great season with the Tigers, it’s unclear if he’s a lock to leave the bayou. Other names out there are Zach Smith (WR coach at Temple and Earle Bruce’s grandson) and Tim Hinton, the RB coach at Notre Dame. Current Ohio State WR coach Stan Drayton previously worked for Meyer and could be retained.
