Does Jim Tressel Offer Hope for Brady Hoke?

It was 10 years ago today that Jim Tressel became the head coach of Ohio State University. 

The first few paragraphs of an article by Sports Illustrated/cnnsi.com read:

“Ohio State has a new coach, Jim Tressel, and it didn't have to travel far to find him. Tressel, who guided Youngstown State to four I-AA national championships in 15 seasons, will be introduced Thursday as the Buckeyes' new coach.

"The 48-year-old Tressel accepted the job Wednesday, said two members of the advisory council set up to help in the search for a new coach.”

For most, Tressel came out of nowhere.  The hot names were Glen Mason; Mike Bellotti; Jon Gruden, who was coaching the Oakland Raiders at the time; Tyrone Willingham; Chris Spielman; and Buckeye assistant coach Fred Pagac.  At the time, no one was expecting Ohio State to hire a coach from division I-AA. 

Tressel had been offered the job at University of Miami some years before, but could not accept it due to family issues.  The public may not have been aware of his coaching prowess, but those inside the NCAA knew.  People were concerned that the jump would be too big for Tressel to make. 

Many wanted a big name, like Jon Gruden who was a young and hot coach with the NFL Oakland Raiders.  Others wanted someone who was in the immediate Ohio State family, like Glen Mason, who made it known that OSU was his dream job and that he cried the first time he led his Minnesota team into Columbus for a game.

Mike Bellotti was starting to establish Oregon as a national power, the current success of OU can be traced to his coaching foundation which Chip Kelly has built upon. 

Tyrone Willingham was also a hot coach who did such a good job at Stanford, that people around the country took notice.  Willingham would not continue the success at Notre Dame and Washington.

So here is Jim Tressel from Youngstown State.  People were not sure, even apprehensive.  Some were disappointed at not getting a bigger name. 

Ten years later, Andy Geiger has shown people that his judgment was right.  Geiger had stated before that Tressel’s interview blew him away. 

Ten years later, Tressel has blown away the Big Ten and the NCAA, leading OSU to more BCS bowl games than any program in the country, six straight Big Ten titles and one national championship while playing for two more.  Not a bad 10-year run.

What Tressel shows is that a good coach is a good coach.  It does not matter where he comes from;  had OSU hired any of the other above mentioned names, they most assuredly would not have had the success Tressel has in the last 10 years.  A good coach is a good coach, one just needs to find him.

This should give comfort to University of Michigan.  It seems like Hoke was not the first choice.  Reports had Les Miles turning down the job. 

Reports also had Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald and Missouri’s Gary Pinkel as also being pursued by UM.  People look at where Hoke came from: Ball State and San Diego State.  They are not considered big time programs on the level of Michigan. 

Tressel has shown these last ten years proves that where you come from is not as important as who you are.  Jim Tressel is an excellent football coach and may go down as OSU’s best when he decides to step down. 

Where will Brady Hoke be in 10 years?  Hopefully, Tressel offers him and UM hope that it can be fruitful.

Note: It was January 17, 2001 that Jim Tressel became OSU head coach.