Penn State or Ohio State: Which Job Is the Best?

The Ohio State and Penn State football programs face very similar challenges. Both legendary
coaches were fired. The interim head coach of each school is not a viable candidate to fill the job on a long term basis. 

Both schools have had bad press surrounding their programs. And both schools under normal circumstances would be top jobs that any candidate would love to have. But these are not normal
circumstances in any way.

One fact of life that every coaching candidate knows is that you never want to be the guy that replaces the legendary coach. You want to be the guy that replaces the guy that replaced the legendary coach. 

Both schools will try to attract the usual suspects as head coach. 

That list includes both coaches that left their jobs voluntarily and up-and-coming candidates that have had outstanding results in a lesser job. 

What Does a Top Candidate for Head Coach Look for in a Program?

There has been a lot of discussion about ex-Florida HC. The latest news from ESPN Radio is that Meyer turned down a seven-year, $35 million dollar deal from Ohio State. Meyer is currently a color analyst with ESPN football coverage. 

On his game today, he denied rumors that he had accepted a contract from Ohio State.  ESPN also indicated that there was interest on both sides in the job.

These are some of the criteria that a man like Meyer might use to decide which job was the best:

Stability of the school administration

Ohio State has replaced the head coach Jim Tressel with interim head coach Luke Fickell. Fickell will likely be replaced soon. 

Aol.com is reporting rumors of pressure to replace Athletic Director Gene Smith. So far, he is still in place. While OSU President Gordon Gee made an ill-timed joke about hoping Coach Tressel didn’t fire him, he appears safe in his job.

Penn State’s has fired the president, Dr. Graham Spanier. 

David M. Joyner has been named acting AD. Joyner is a member of the Board of Trustees and is expected to return to that job once a permanent AD is named. 

Joyner played football for the school.

The school’s official website also announced the board has named Dr. Rodney A. Erickson, executive vice president and provost, as the interim president of the University. 

Advantage: Ohio State

Status of Lawsuits, Criminal Indictments and NCAA Violations

Status of lawsuits and criminal indictments

While a couple of people involved in the gold pants gate scandal are being prosecuted, none of them are employed by Ohio State. A couple of boosters were expelled from any contact with the program. Other than that, no legal issues hover over the program.

In the case of Penn State, there are several people that could face prosecution for perjury in addition to the charges facing former assistant head coach Jerry Sandusky.

In addition, there might be be civil suits by the alleged victims’ families against the coaching staff and the university. Those issues will hound the school and the program for years before the legal issues are resolved. 

In addition, the nature of the issues at Penn State are so much more serious than the sale of memorabilia and issues of payment for summer jobs. For most people, there is nothing more horrifying than the charges being levied against Sandusky.

Advantage: Ohio State

Status of NCAA investigations and sanctions

According to ESPN, the NCAA announced Friday that it will begin looking into the scandal at Penn State to see if there were any violations of NCAA rules. It is hard to believe that NCAA rules were not violated if the charges are proven to be true. 

Ohio State is waiting to hear about the final decision about the penalties resulting from the violations.  Those announcements should be made by the middle of January 2012. That will be the end of issue as long as the school remains clean. 

Advantage: Ohio State

Recruiting Tradition

To get the very best college prospects, a school needs a coach with a reputation of preparing athletes for the NFL and a history of players being high draft picks.

Penn State is known as Linebacker U. But over the last few years, PSU has produced
very few first and second round NFL draft picks. In the 2011 draft, Penn State had only two
players drafted one in the second round. In 2010, the school had six total players drafted, with one in each of the first two rounds.

In 2009, Penn State had five players, picked with only one in the first three rounds.  That one was Aaron Maybin, who was cut by the Bills in 2011 despite being a top 15 pick in '09. In 2008, the school had only one player picked in the third round.

Ohio State had a first-round pick in 2011 and five overall. In 2010, OSU had four players drafted, with none in the top two rounds. In 2009, OSU had seven players picked, with two players in each of the first two rounds. 

In 2008, the Buckeyes had three players picked, including one in the top six. That player was Vernon Gholston, who was moved to outside linebacker by the Jets and was released in 2011.

Advantage: Push

Quality of the 2012 Roster

In 2012, Ohio State has an established sophomore starting QB in Braxton Miller and a group of players that will be sophomores and juniors that have started in 2011. The team’s top rusher going into the game Saturday was Carlos Hyde (5.4 yard average), who is a sophomore, and the third leading rusher (behind Miller at No. 2) is Jordan Hall (4.0), who will be a senior next year.

The three top receivers will likely return. TE Jake Stoneburner (12 catches) is a junior, WR Devin Smith (11) is a freshman and Corey Brown (11) is a sophomore.   

The Buckeye also have commitments from five 4-star recruits.

Penn State has a junior quarterback, Matthew McGloin, and a sophomore RB, Silas Redd, is their top RB. 

The top WR is Derek Moye (34 catches) is a senior. The second and third receivers are juniors Justin Brown (32) and Devon Smith (21). Penn State has several freshmen and sophomores starting and also has five 4-star recruits.

Advantage: Ohio State by a bit.

In the final analysis, Ohio State seems to be a better job right now given the issues with both programs. It will be interesting to see how both jobs are filled.

That’s what I think. Tell us what you think.

Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams, has officiated both football and basketball, done color on radio for college football and basketball and has scouted talent. He edits http://fryingpansports.com and hosts the Internet radio version of News, Notes and Rumors M-Th at 6 PM EST on http://mooheadradio.com/2.0/. 

He has also published several novels on http://www.eBooks-Library.com/Contemporary/ (select William E. Smith in the author drop down list) and a non-fiction work at http://www.merriam-press.com/.