Urban Meyer Under Immense Pressure to Hire Great Replacement for Tom Herman

COLUMBUS, Ohio — When he first arrived at Ohio State in late 2011, Urban Meyer knew the question was coming. So when he was asked to explain the health problems that led to his downfall at Florida, it wasn't a surprise that Meyer had an answer that was both plausible and logical.

Given the success Meyer found in Gainesville—including a run of two national championships in three years—programs from around the country came calling to claim their branches of Meyer's coaching tree. But rather than trust his replacements for the likes of Dan Mullen and Charlie Strong, Meyer tried to overcompensate, overextending himself and wearing himself out in the process.

"If you hire quality people, they will be head coaches someday; you can’t stand in the way," Meyer told The Columbus Dispatch in 2012. "The key is when you lose someone, how you replace him."

For the first time since coming to Columbus, Meyer's ability to do just that will truly be put to the test.

J Pat Carter/Associated Press

With the news that Buckeyes offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tom Herman will be announced Houston's head coach on Tuesday came the realization that Ohio State will need to replace its most valuable assistant. The 2014 recipient of the Broyles Award, presented annually to college football's top assistant, Herman made a name for himself this season by transforming redshirt freshman J.T. Barrett into a Heisman Trophy candidate and one-time third-string quarterback Cardale Jones into the Big Ten Championship MVP.

But Herman's value to Meyer's staff extended beyond his work with the OSU quarterbacks, as he's also proven to be one of the Buckeyes' most decorated recruiters. In the matter of just two recruiting cycles, Herman used his Texas ties to singlehandedly build a pipeline to the Lone Star State, helping OSU land Barrett, 4-star linebacker Mike Mitchell, 4-star running back Dontre Wilson and 4-star offensive guard Demetrius Knox from 2013-2014.

In the 11 years prior to Herman's arrival, the Buckeyes had netted a total of four scholarship players from the talent-rich state.

"Tom Herman did an excellent job down in Texas, an area that traditionally has not been strong for Ohio State," Meyer said on national signing day in 2013. "I knew very well Tom had a background in Texas and I knew he's a good recruiter because I did the homework before we hired him. Very good recruiter."

That's also shown up in the recruiting of other states as well, particularly at the quarterback position. Herman played a key role in the recruitment of 2013 junior college wide receiver Corey Smith and Ohio State's last three quarterback commitments in 2014: 3-star prospect Stephen Collier, 2015 4-star signal-caller Torrance Gibson and 3-star quarterback Joe Burrow.

The loss of Herman may have even already hurt the Buckeyes on the recruiting trail, as 3-star wide receiver Lawrence Cager told Ari Wasserman of Cleveland.com that he was no longer considering Ohio State, due in large part to the departure of the offensive coordinator.

"Mainly because of the coaching change," Cager said of his decision to not include the Buckeyes in his most recent top five. "Coach Herman leaving was big."

While it remains unclear how much of a priority landing Cager was for OSU—the Buckeyes have gone receiver-heavy in their last two recruiting classes and some recruiting insiders have questioned the legitimacy of Cager's Ohio State offer—it's worth pointing out that recruits have taken note of Herman's new gig. Gibson, one of the most highly touted commits to the Buckeyes' 2015 class, initially voiced concern with Herman's departure before congratulating the Cougars' new head coach.

Throw in the value that Herman added coaching X's and O's—the development of Barrett and Jones, as well as Braxton Miller and Kenny Guiton in the past three seasons, speaks for itself—and it's clear Meyer will need to nail the hiring of Herman's replacement. While Meyer may be one of the fathers of the spread offense, Herman managed to put his own spin on it at OSU, implementing a no-huddle scheme that only enhanced the Buckeyes' talent advantage in the Big Ten.

"That's a big part of why [he was] hired," Meyer said of Herman in September. "I wanted to do it, and he's an expert at it.”

The most likely scenario for Ohio State appears to be promoting offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator Ed Warinner to the position of primary offensive coordinator and bringing in an up-and-coming quarterbacks coach to fill Herman's role. Warinner gained experience as a play-caller as the OC at Kansas from 2007-09, helping lead the Jayhawks to a top-10 offense and Orange Bowl victory in 2007.

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

But making the right hire to replace Herman's work on the recruiting trail and with the Buckeyes quarterbacks will remain critical, especially considering that Warinner has been rumored for the head coaching vacancies at Army and Kansas in the past two years. Meyer will likely look for a quarterbacks coach/co-offensive coordinator with experience in the spread system, with the ability to call plays and recruit Texas being major bonuses.

Tony Gerdeman of theOzone.net has compiled the most comprehensive list of potential replacements for Herman, which includes Boise State's Mike Sanford, East Carolina's Lincoln Riley and Mississippi State's Brian Johnson. As we learned a year ago, Meyer will certainly look to swing for a home run hire, as he did when he replaced defensive line coach Mike Vrabel with Penn State's Larry Johnson.

Replacing a position coach, however, differs from the challenge of hiring a new coordinator, as Meyer learned at Florida. There will be no shortage of qualified candidates lining up to become the next member of Meyer's storied coaching tree, but it will be up to the two-time national champion head coach to make the right hire and keep his offense—and perhaps his program—on track.

Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Ohio State Lead Writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com, and recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.