Ohio State Football: Why Luke Fickell Might Not Get a Fair Audition as Coach

This offseason for Ohio State football has been among the most bizarre and forgettable moments in the history of the program.

Ohio State has had to fire its coach, Jim Tressel, and say goodbye to its most talented offensive player, Terrelle Pryor.

With the NCAA investigation in its waning states with only sanctions left to be announced, it seems like Ohio State can start to get back to thinking just about playing football.

And at this point for Buckeye fans, anything is better than the constant attacks and degradation of their school and football program, whether by scandal or by a poorly-timed joke by the school president.

But the biggest issue with the negativity surrounding the program is that it left a cloud of mystery about the future.

The school has said it will not start to find a new head coach until December.

That alone has done more than anything else to hurt recruiting, because it's very tough to convince kids to come to your school if even you don't know who your next coach is going to be.

The concerning thing, though, is it has a guy who so far seems to have the respect of the guys in the locker room in Luke Fickell.

While it's true that he has never coached a game, he has been put in a tough spot without question.

He has the burden of being the coach of a six-time defending Big Ten champion with the pressure to do it again in a revamped conference with a new QB.

Of course, the NCAA has the power to keep Ohio State from even having the opportunity to win the Big Ten by means of a postseason ban.

But that aside, the pressure to continue the winning tradition is a heavy burden for anyone, because success for any sustained amount of time is very difficult to do in today's game.

Thus, it seems like Ohio State's new top man might not be able to get a fair shake in the coaching search.

He has less experience than some of the big names linked to the job, including Urban Meyer, Jon Gruden and Bo Pelini, among others.

The biggest solace he has this year is that Ohio State doesn't have to travel to Wisconsin or Penn State, arguably the two toughest opponents in the new Leaders Division.

But even with that, he has to deal with the pressure of winning a seventh straight Big Ten title in his first year as a head coach.

To add to that, he is literally fighting for his job.

That might just be too much pressure for anyone to overcome, let alone a first-time head coach.

The pressure to live up to your predecessor is what made Earle Bruce's tenure seem worse than it was, because he never won a championship like Woody Hayes did.

And for Fickell, he has a pair of shoes to fill that might as well be as big as the Horseshoe.

Is that too much to wish upon a coach at a program that is at a crossroads?

Yes.

Is he capable of being a success at Ohio State?

Without question.

He has already shown he has the respect of the locker room and he can better relate to young players, which adds a new dynamic to the head coach that Tressel didn't have.

But make no mistake, Ohio State is in some transition.

The question for Fickell is not how he will do, but how his bosses will judge him during this season.

They need to consider his circumstances and give him more of a fair shake.

But who's really to say if at a school where the expectations are as high as Mount Everest, Fickell can keep his job if he doesn't at least win 10 games.

If Gene Smith doesn't believe Fickell is the guy, given a rough year to base a resume on, he will move on from him.

Fickell might as well have the weight of the world on his shoulders this year.

And it could be because of Tressel's transgressions that Fickell might not get the fair shake that he deserves.

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