Ohio State Football: Sorry, Luke Fickell, but a Loss to Michigan Seals Your Fate

It was a valiant effort by the Luke Fickell led 6-6 (3-5 Big Ten) Ohio State Buckeyes today against the 9-2 (6-2 Big Ten) No. 15 Michigan Wolverines, but unfortunately for Fickell, the Buckeyes were unable to seal a win against their biggest rival for the eighth time in a row.

Fickell has produced better than expected results for the Buckeyes with the turmoil that surrounded the team to start the season, but it doesn’t seem to be enough to keep him in the fold at Ohio State. To be honest, it probably wouldn’t have mattered if he would have won the Big Ten.

Ohio State needs a big time hire.

There has been a ton of chatter surrounding the Ohio State job and Urban Meyer. There would not be talk of Urban Meyer to Ohio State if Fickell were still on the radar to stick around. Fickell had to realize that when he took the job, he was going to be around long enough for the Buckeyes to find a proven head coach that would make a splash.

Urban Meyer is from Ohio and a return to the state would simply be a return home for him. It is an easy transition for Meyer and a worthwhile investment for the Buckeyes. With all that being said, why wouldn’t the Buckeyes stick with Fickell assuming that he at least reached expectations for the season?

Fickell has been on the coaching staff at Ohio State since 2002. He was the co-defensive coordinator from 2005 until his most recent promotion in the wake of the firing of Jim Tressel because of his NCAA violations coverup. Fickell was a part of the former regime, the coaching group that brought the Buckeyes much turmoil and possible NCAA violations.

The Ohio State administration will be wise to get rid of everything that surrounded the Tressel era. It is hard to believe that Tressel was the only coach that knew about the supposed violations. Even if Tressel was the only firm tie to the knowledge, the perception is there and Fickell must understand that this wasn’t a long term position.

If Fickell did have one chance to possibly change the minds of the Ohio State administration before they would move on to a bigger name, it would have been a win over Michigan. It didn’t happen. Unfortunately for Fickell, he couldn’t add one more win to the streak.

As valiant of an effort as the Buckeyes have put out on the field while pushing through the allegations, the results don’t always speak for themselves. Unfortunately for Fickell, his days appear limited in Columbus.