Sunday, December 14, 2014

The Scare and Not The Kind You Think

 

It seems that the standards for journalism has decreased quite a bit. This is never more evident than in multiple news websites siting that, Tom Herman's last game as a coach at Ohio State would be finished after the Sugar Bowl. Hours later, Herman's wife tweeted that she knew nothing about the topic, leaving the faithful to breathe a sigh of relief. As Buckeye fans we must face the fact that there is a real possibility that our coaching staff may not be together forever. Last year, offensive line coach Ed Warinner interviewed for the Army Head Coach vacancy. This year, the University of Houston interviewed Herman, but all indication point to Herman staying at Ohio State until Herman says otherwise. Which brings me to my next point.

Urban Meyer assembled his coaching staff knowing that two things would happen: National Championships would be won and other Universities would be looking at his staff for head coach vacancies. I cannot say that I blame other programs for wanting our coaches, however, if I were Meyer I would be telling Gene Smith to give out raises or lose great coaches. I get that it is not fair to not want great assistant coaches to leave, but they do deserve a promotion if they chose to pursue one. On the opposite side though, Ohio State is and will always be a top tier program with the ability to compete on a yearly basis, leaving Buckeye Nation with the assumption that Ohio State should be able to pay coaches enough to not look anywhere else. We have seen coaching changes take place that offered reasoning behind the assumption that Athletic Directors were not willing to spend to keep. Take for instance Gary Andersen, whom received a raise after taking the vacancy at Oregon State from Wisconsin. One would assume that Wisconsin would be more enticing, considering Oregon State is not on the same level as Oregon, but still a good program. However, sometimes upper management can make a great program seem unbearable.

The battle of coaching styles and programs that were built based upon a philosophy will always rage on. Wisconsin was built upon the premise of a dominant running game established by a huge offensive line and huge running back. Under Coach Andersen, the Badgers produced multiple thousand yards backs, and a version of a spread throwing scheme. Therefore, the Badgers veered slightly away from the notion of running the ball down the opponents throat for 6o minutes. Another example, under Tressel the Buckeyes were anything but a spread offense scheme, like we are now. Under Tressel, the Buckeyes were a traditional under center, power running game, traditional throwing scheme that paid its dividend only partial time. However, under Meyer the team is totally different, with a modified running game, and shotgun formation only. This type of offense has paid its dividends for Buckeye Nation.

In the end, money and the lure of a top tier program is not always enough to satisfy a coach that is still seeking something more. As Buckeye Fans we have greatness to look forward too, but also coaching changes as other programs look at the most successful teams, than go after assistants. Tis the season to be thankful for what we have, so we should as such.

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