| 05 July 2011
I am back. I needed to step away from it for a few days. There is so much going on right now. More than any off-season I can remember. Then again, there has never been an off-season with investigations and a head coaching change.
The 4th of July is a special holiday for me. In addition to being an unabashed flag waving patriot, my late father was born on the 4th of July so it has a very special place on my calendar.
I wanted to touch on a number of things concerning coaching that have occurred since my last blog.
First, Luke Fickell went on the Dan Patrick Show last week. The one thing he said that is most significant is his declaration that he is the head coach. The interim label has been taken off. What? This is how we learn that the "interim" tag has been removed, on the Dan Patrick Show? Who came up with this stroke of genius? The only reason to take the interim label off at this stage is to stop the bleeding with recruiting. That doesn't rate a press conference, some kind of
statement from the school??? There is no change in coach Fickells contract. It is still one year with an option for a second year, an option that only the school can execute. I think what Fickell meant was he is the head coach right now and whether he stays head coach is up to him, but if that is not true, if they really did take the interim tag off, I need someone to explain to me the point of doing that and why they did it the way they did it. If you sum up the contract in one word that word would be interim. Any coach in the country operating with such a contract would take a beating on the recruiting front.
I keep hearing we will see Mike Vrabel retire from the NFL and become the Buckeyes linebacker coach. I see so many pluses with that but first I have to ask, why the Buckeyes are bringing in a linebacker coach? Taver Johnson is on the staff. He was quite a good linebacker in college. Before coming to Ohio State he logged more reps coaching linebackers than he did coaching cornerbacks. The current Buckeye arrangement is an odd one. I have seen cornerback coaches and safety coaches before but I remember it at the pro level, and it has been sometime since I have seen it. It seems I recall seeing it at the college level but I can't remember it. The vast majority of the time there is just a defensive backs coach. When special teams were so bad last year that it contributed to the Buckeyes only loss against Wisconsin and nearly cost the Buckeyes the Sugar Bowl, it seems like moving Johnson over to coach linebacker and adding a special teams coach is a better move.
Not that I do not see Vrabel being named the linebacker coach as a good thing. Can you imagine Mike Vrabel sitting in the living rooms of recruits? I am sure some will be rendered speechless. I hope he is sporting a championship ring when he walks into that recruits home. On the field I think it could be an even more positive move. An outstanding professional football player, fresh from the field, bringing pro techniques and a professionals attitude to these young guys. I would hope he would get some time with the defensive ends to teach them how the pros rush the passer.
As far as the head coaching job is concerned, I still believe Luke Fickell putting up the right number of wins ends the discussion. I believe 10 puts him in the running but it will take at least 11 to get the official nod and the 5-year deal that goes with it. As far as others are concerned I am only hearing one name right now, Bo Pelini. I bet you thought I would say Urban Meyer. He is the fans favorite. There is no question about that. There is little coming out about Meyer. What is coming out does not bode well for the Buckeye fans that want to see Meyer as the next head coach.
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