Ohio State Football Scandal: 10 Replacements If Jim Tressel Is Forced Out
It would appear that there's something rotten in Columbus, Ohio.
In case you haven't heard the news, a two-month investigation by Yahoo! Sports revealed Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Jim Tressel knew about the memorabilia scheme that got Terrelle Pryor and four other players suspended for the first five games of the 2011 season long before the school claimed to first hear about it in early December. If this is true, both he and the Ohio State football program are going to be in serious trouble.
In addition to the school having to vacate their 2010 season if the NCAA lowers the hammer, there is also a clause in Tressel's contract that states that failure on his part to report "any violations" leaves him subject to “termination by Ohio State for cause.”
In other words, Ohio State could be looking for a new head football coach in the near future.
We don't necessarily want to jump to conclusions... but it's always best to be prepared. Thus, we came up with a list of 10 coaches who might replace Tressel if he is forced out.
10. Jon Gruden
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If the topic of discussion turns to vacant college football head coaching jobs, Jon Gruden's name will invariably pop up. So let's go ahead and get it out of the way.
Personally, I don't think Gruden is in any rush to get back into coaching, and methinks that being asked to take over a program that could potentially be in a huge mess for years to come probably wouldn't be the best way to lure him back to the sideline.
In fact, the only real bullet point that supports the idea of Gruden taking the Ohio State gig is the fact that he's an Ohio native. If you're an optimist, I suppose you could say that the fact he at least entertained discussions about the Miami job would indicate that he does have some interest in returning to coaching.
Still, I think you can tell that I don't buy it, hence the reason Gruden barely made the cut.
9. Randy Shannon
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I know what you're thinking. It's probably something along the lines of, "Randy Shannon can't coach worth a damn."
This is quite true. However, this doesn't mean that the man Jon Gruden would have replaced at Miami isn't entirely without redeeming qualities. He's not a bad recruiter and we know that he's definitely into the whole morality thing. When he took over, Miami players suddenly stopped getting into trouble and started minding their studies, the latter being an aspect of college football that is vastly underrated.
Like I said before, if the allegations against Tressel and Ohio State are true, the program is likely going to be screwed for at least a couple of years. If so, bringing in Shannon to clean things up for a few years might be advantageous. They don't necessarily need to keep him once it's time to start competing again, but the university's reputation might look much better when the time comes to cut ties with him.
8. Kyle Whittingham
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An understudy of Urban Meyer (Spoiler Alert: more on him in a moment), Kyle Whittingham has been the head coach of the Utah Utes ever since 2005. He led the team to a perfect season in 2008, which was capped off with a win in the Sugar Bowl.
Whittingham was reported to have been offered the Tennessee job back in January of 2010, but he apparently had no interest whatsoever in inheriting Lane Kiffin's wreckage. Because of this, it's easy to deduce he wouldn't be very interested in inheriting Tressel's wreckage, especially given the fact that he and his Utes are now members of a major conference.
Nevertheless, in the event that Tressel is forced out, there is no doubt in my mind that Whittingham's name will at least be on some kind of short list.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
7. Gary Patterson
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In keeping with the trend of coaches who have risen to prominence in non-BCS conferences, how about TCU's Gary Patterson? He's coming off a season in which he led the Horned Frogs to an undefeated record and a victory in the Rose Bowl over Wisconsin, one of Ohio State's Big Ten rivals.
Patterson also led the Horned Frogs to an undefeated (regular) season in 2009 and he became the first ever non-BCS head coach to be named to AP's Coach of the Year.
Like Whittingham, the only problem I have with Patterson as a candidate for the Ohio State gig is that he's going to be a BCS coach in the near future anyway and he's got a good thing going down in Fort Worth, so I don't see why he would want to jump ship.
6. Chris Petersen
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Like Whittingham and Patterson, Boise State's Chris Petersen is always going to pop up whenever there's a major head coaching vacancy. This is generally a case of wishful thinking, but there's no denying that he's the kind of coach that just about every university in the country would love to get their hands on.
The reason for this is not difficult to determine. In five years with Petersen at the helm, the Broncos have only lost five games. Little sisters of the poor or not, that's pretty darn impressive. He's one of the best there is with X's and O's and hiring him would definitely play well in Columbus.
Nevertheless, one suspects that Petersen knows full well what happened to former Boise State head coach Dan Hawkins when he made the transition to a major school. He crashed and burned as head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes and he finally got the axe midway through the 2010 season. As such, he probably is in no hurry to jump into a similar (if not worse) situation.
5. Larry Johnson
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Larry Johnson has been a member of Joe Paterno's staff at Penn State ever since 1996, serving as the defensive line coach since 2000.
In 2009, Johnson was courted by Ron Zook and Illinois to become the defensive coordinator, but he ultimately decided to stay put.
Johnson may not be as battle-tested as some of the other coaches on this list, but there aren't many who can match his recruiting abilities. He's the primary recruiter for the Nittany Lions and he has consistently brought in top-level talent.
Nevertheless, if the idea would be to lure a Penn State coach to Columbus, I think the Ohio State brass might prefer the next guy on the list.
4. Tom Bradley
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Larry Johnson is definitely a good candidate, but Tom Bradley might be an even better fit for the job.
Bradley has been on Joe Paterno's staff ever since 1980, which is pretty amazing. He took over defensive coordinator duties back in 1999 and it's surprising that it hasn't been until recently that the idea of him bolting for a head coaching gig somewhere else.
Bradley was reported to have interviewed for the head coaching job at Pittsburgh, UConn and Temple in recent months. He obviously chose to remain at Penn State for 2011, but my guess is that he wouldn't have been so quick to stay put if one of those schools was Ohio State.
That being said, the one reason I think Bradley has stayed at Penn State for so long is because it's entirely likely that he could become the next head coach of the Nittany Lions if and when Paterno finally steps down. Still, he would be a fine candidate if Ohio State were to go after him and it's certainly not inconceivable that he would be willing to accept the job.
3. Paul Chryst
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Wisconsin Badgers offensive coordinator Paul Chryst is a hot prospect these days. Texas Longhorns head coach Mack Brown wanted Chryst to be his offensive coordinator and he was also interviewed for Pittsburgh's head coaching gig.
Chryst recently got a pay raise and had his contract extended through 2016, but you have to think that his name is always going to pop up whenever a head coaching job becomes vacant.
The major hurdle in luring Chryst away from Madison is the fact that he is a Wisconsin guy, having played quarterback for the Badgers in the 1980's. Still, there's no denying that Chryst will be a fine head coach once he decides to accept the right position and being the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes does have a nice ring to it.
2. Mark D'Antonio
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Michigan State head coach Mark D'Antonio really came into his own in 2010 and it seemed like no other coach in the land so routinely willed his team to victory as often as he did.
Before D'Antonio forayed into head coaching, he made a name for himself as Jim Tressel's defensive coordinator from 2001-2003. The Buckeyes' defense was pretty darn good during that span, especially during their run to the 2002 BCS National Championship.
In addition to Tressel, D'Antonio has also worked under Nick Saban, which obviously makes for a pretty attractive resume.
My guess is that, while he's not the No. 1 option on this list, most Buckeyes fans would be just fine with the idea of D'Antonio taking over for Tressel.
1. Urban Meyer
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You're not going to find many college football coaches that can hope to match Urban Meyer's resume. And on balance, you're not going to find a better fit for the Ohio State head coaching gig.
Before Meyer went on to win two BCS National Championships at the University of Florida, he got his start as graduate assistant at Ohio State in 1986 and 1987. He didn't play ball with the Buckeyes (he went to Cincinnati), but he is an Ohio native.
As a coach, it's obvious that Meyer can win, but we also know that he can recruit with the best of them. The one problem with hiring him is that his players didn't always behave while he was at Florida, but there's no denying that he is widely respected all the same.
Whether or not Meyer would be willing to jump back into coaching after just calling it quits at the end of this last season is definitely a pretty big obstacle. Still, you have to think that he would at least get a call and that he would at least consider the idea.
If he can be swayed, Ohio State will have saved face in a pretty major way.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
