It is said that a football team takes on the personality of its head coach.

With that in mind, it is easy to see the similarities between Coach Tressel and his Ohio State squads over the past decade.

The Buckeyes went about their business with a quiet calm that almost overshadowed the intense drive that is required to achieve a 106-22 record over ten seasons (that’s right, I’m not deducting the vacated wins, what are you going to do about it?).

This understated style was so well known that it inspired the coining of a term which defined the coach and his teams: Tresselball.

With a focus on suffocating defense, superior special teams, field position, and a conservative style of offense that avoided mistakes, Tresselball was extremely effective, but also incredibly frustrating at times.

Coach Tressel’s time on the sidelines is over, but that doesn’t mean we have witnessed the end of Tresselball in Columbus.

In a perfect world, Coach Fickell will take up Tressel’s torch by building on his proven and successful coaching philosophies.

At the same time, by infusing his characteristic aggressiveness into the offense, Fickell can minimize some of the most frustrating aspects of the old system.

Tresselball may not be dead, but it certainly won’t be the same in the hands of a new personality.

Tresselball Revisited

I have to admit that over the years I grew very fond of a classic Tresselball beat down. In an odd way, a 24-7 margin of victory grew to be more satisfying than a 56-28 performance ever could be.

In games that kept you on the edge of your seat throughout, looking back and realizing that your opponent barely achieved a first down in the second half created a unique sense of satisfaction that really grew on you over time.

Despite this growing fondness and appreciation, even the greatest Tresselball victory couldn’t erase the heart breaking losses that left you wondering, “why weren’t we more aggressive on offense!?”

Would an aggressive offense under Tressel have led to more victories? In many of Ohio State’s closest defeats, it sure seemed that way to the average fan.

Then again, being aggressive and throwing an interception late in a game would have been just as frustrating, if not more so, than going three-and-out and punting, no?

Who knows how many games would have turned out differently if an aggressively thrown third-and-long interception replaced a three-and-out punt?

Without getting too philosophical here, there is a balance that has to be struck in how a team runs its offense.

The absolute best outcome for an offense is to drive the ball down the field and score on every possession.

The next best outcome is driving the ball down the field and pinning the opponent deep in their own territory.

On the negative side of things, the second worst outcome is failing to earn a first down and giving the opponent favorable field position.

With great punting, this option can be upgraded without the hassle of getting first downs, which is why Tressel called the punt the most important play in football.

Finally, the absolute worst option is to turn the ball over (even though the infamous “arm punt” was another Tressel strategy to minimize this negative as well).

The tricky part comes in when you consider that the harder you try to achieve the absolute best option on offense (scoring on every possession) the more likely the absolute worst option (turning the ball over) is to occur.

Tressel chose to minimize the possibility of turning the ball over, particularly late in close games, even if he hurt his offense’s performance in the process.

Instead, he focused on winning the field position battle and relying on the defense to get stops. With superior punting, he didn’t even have to worry about getting first downs late in games, and as we all know too well, oftentimes he didn’t.

That is why time and time again the Buckeyes would run up the middle on three straight plays before punting. On the backs of the Silver Bullets, this strategy worked on most occasions, but when it didn’t, it was unbelievably frustrating to witness.

The Transition

Despite its flaws, it cannot be disputed that Tresselball won games- lots and lots of games.

Even with the unprecedented success Tressel’s brand of football brought to Columbus, the call for a more aggressive offense was heard loudly and frequently (often through calls to fire scapegoat offensive coordinator Jim Bollman) across Buckeye Nation.

This was especially true after particularly frustrating losses.

I have to admit that even I was calling for a new offensive coordinator following the ’09 USC game (literally, I was yelling about it with friends walking home from the stadium, I apologize if you were unfortunate enough to be walking next to me that night).

At the same time, it would be foolish to completely abandon a system that has such a proven track record of success.

That is why I was (and continue to be) a huge proponent of maintaining a direct link to Tressel’s philosophy through hiring someone from Ohio State’s current staff to be the next head coach.

Even before this summer, I believed the pieces were lining up for one of Tressel’s protégés to take the reins when he retired, most likely after his contract expired following the 2014 season.

I always thought Darrell Hazell would be the guy to take over. He even held the title of assistant head coach during his final years in Columbus. If you follow this line of thinking, he went to Kent State to flex his head coaching muscles in preparation to take over in Columbus.

Obviously, Tressel’s resignation sped up the transition process, and Hazell’s departure turned out to be at the worst possible time, leaving the door open for Luke Fickell.

Tresselball 2.0

Luke Fickell has deep connections to Tresselball.

His role as the co-defensive coordinator put him in a unique position to appreciate the best aspects of the philosophy: a suffocating defense capable of winning games with the help of efficient special teams play.

The focus on defense and special teams will not be dropping off under Coach Fickell anytime soon.

At the same time, Fickell was also in a position to understand one of Tresselball’s biggest flaws: defenses get tired, and against good teams even the best defense can’t win every game without help from the offense.

This understanding could result in a more aggressive offense under Coach Fickell to help take pressure off the defense, especially late in close games.

A new offensive philosophy within the framework of Tresselball would be exactly what many fans, including myself, have been hoping for.

Signs this summer indicate that we may be getting just that in 2011.

With input from new assistant coaches like Stan Drayton (who has experience in the multifaceted Florida system under Urban Meyer) and the reported move of running back Jordan Hall to wide receiver, it seems clear that some offensive scheming is currently underway deep in the confines of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

Schemes aren’t everything, and Fickell’s contribution to the overall attitude of the offense will be just as important as any schematic wrinkles he may incorporate.

Lining up and crushing the person in front of you over and over can be just as effective on a football field as the most complicated play book in the world. That is true at the beginning, middle, and end of games.

As a three time state champion on the wrestling mat, four year starting nose tackle for the Silver Bullets, and co-architect of one of the nation’s best defenses over the past five years, taking the ultra-aggressive attitude that has characterized his entire career to the offensive side of the ball is perhaps the most exciting thing that Coach Fickell brings to the table as the new head coach.

If Fickell can maintain the defensive excellence and special teams focus that he helped establish under Tressel, infuse his smash mouth personality into the offense, all while mixing in the right amount of creative play calling to keep opposing defenses off balance, he will be well on his way to signing a long term contract at the end of the season.

Tresselball will not be the same under Coach Fickell- that is a fact.

If the team takes on Fickell’s personality, Tresselball 2.0 could be even better.