Urban Meyer Coaching Staff: Meyer Makes Right Move Retaining Luke Fickell

After the news that legendary head coach Urban Meyer signed a six-year, $24 million deal plus bonuses to be the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes next season, attention turns to what will become of interim head coach Luke Fickell, who replaced Jim Tressel after the scandal.

Well, according to 10TV Sports' Dom Tiberi, it looks like Fickell will be retained on Meyer's staff in 2012, although his exact position isn't immediately known.

And Meyer made the right move in keeping Fickell around.

Ohio State went 6-6 this season, which may seem like a disappointment given their past success and their preseason ranking of No. 18 in college football.

But the Buckeyes' ranking at No. 18 was frankly, way too high given the circumstances. The Buckeyes had just lost their star quarterback Terrelle Pryor after he allegedly received improper benefits, and Fickell was thrust into a tough situation. Not to mention, Fickell had the underwhelming Joe Bauserman and developing freshman Braxton Miller to work with at quarterback.

Despite Ohio State's regular season record in 2011, I actually think Fickell did a commendable job. All of Ohio State's losses were by a touchdown or less, with the exception of the Miami (FL) game on Sept. 17, and they battled ranked teams Michigan State, Nebraska, Penn State and Michigan down to the wire. The only true failure was the loss against unranked Purdue on Nov. 12.

It's also worth noting that this was Fickell's first stint as a head coach, and it's not like Ohio State gave him fair warning before asking him to "just do what Jim Tressel did."

Beyond that, Fickell has been with the Buckeyes since 2002 as a special teams coordinator, linebackers coach and assistant coach in 2010. In fact, in 2010, Fickell was named Assistant Coach of the Year by the AFCA.

Meyer knows how to build a staff, and he recognized Fickell as a good coach right away.

That should be the first encouraging sign for Buckeyes fans as Meyer tries to lead Ohio State to a title.