How the Coaching Carousel Might Affect the Buckeyes

We are approaching that time of year when a multitude of coaching changes will be taking place all across the college football landscape. We have already heard rumblings of different programs thinking about making the change, while some schools like LSU, Purdue and Fresno State have already axed their current coaches hoping to jump start the process of finding a new one.

We know that Urban Meyer’s coaching tree is constantly growing, as we saw last year Chris Ash head up to Rutgers to take the Scarlet Knights open position, and two years ago Tom Herman left to go become the head coach of the Houston Cougars. Fourteen former assistant coaches under Meyer have gone on to become head coaches at the FBS level, and there will be more coming. Let’s take a look at the positions that might be coming open at the end of the year and what assistant coaches from the Buckeyes current staff might be ideal fits.

Purdue:

The Boilermakers program has been floundering for years since the departure of long time head coach Joe Tiller. Danny Hope was brought in and even though he went to back to back bowl games in his final two seasons, he was let go in favor of bringing in a former Jim Tressel assistant in Darrell Hazell. Hazel went 9-33 in his 3+ seasons at the helm, and was let go after six games into the 2016 season. The interim head coach is Gerad Parker who was the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator. Purdue will be looking to fill its position from a litany of candidates, and a few of them might be on the Ohio State staff.

Ed Warinner is the first name that springs to mind as a possible head coaching candidate at Purdue. We know that Warinner wants to become a head coach as he has interviewed for jobs at Kansas and Army in 2013-2014. He was ultimately passed over for those jobs, but the job he has done with the Ohio State offense in recent years has vaulted him up as a potential head coaching candidate. I would imagine that the Boilermakers will give Warinner a serious look when making the hire.

Luke Fickell is another name that is bandied about when these mid-level jobs come up, but will he ever leave Ohio State? He has apparently interviewed for other jobs in the past, and remained at Ohio State through thick and thin. He was appointed the interim head coach when Jim Tressel resigned and did a more than adequate job during that season. He is a top notch recruiter for the Buckeyes and has developed quite a few players into top flight NFL prospects, so any team that would hire him as their head coach would be getting a quality person.

LSU:

The Tigers fired Les Miles after they had a heartbreak loss to Auburn, and the administration decided that it had had enough. Miles was let go and Ed Orgeron was made the interim head coach. Orgeron has gone three and one in his four games as head coach, only losing to Alabama in a defensive slug-fest last Saturday. It is unlikely that Orgeron will be retained as the head coach at the end of the season, as LSU is a top tier job and they will be looking for a home run hire.

I don’t see any current Buckeye coaches being looked at for the LSU job, although Greg Schiano is a possibility just because of his experience in both college and the NFL. I believe the Tigers will look to either Tom Herman from Houston or Larry Fedora from North Carolina as their top two choices. There is also a chance that they reach out again to Jimbo Fisher at Florida State and see if he wants to come back to where he was an assistant for many years. Fisher apparently turned them down last year when Miles was on the outs, would he do it again?

Texas:

There have been rumblings that Charlie Strong is a dead man walking in Austin come the end of the year. He is doing everything in his power to retain his job and winning out the rest of the season might be enough to do just that. If he is let go, there will be a star studded list of candidates who the Longhorns will want to try and rope into becoming their next head football coach.

Again the Buckeyes don’t have anyone who I think is a big enough name for Texas, but again former assistant Tom Herman has heard his name tied to the Longhorn job since late last year. Of course the last time the Longhorns were looking for a head coach they went after Nick Saban, and he rebuked their offers to stay at Alabama. Would be consider them this time? Doubtful, as I believe he either stays at Alabama for the remainder of his career or ends up back in the NFL. Other names to keep an eye on for this job are Les Miles, Jim Mora and Art Briles.

Notre Dame:

Is the Brian Kelly regime over in South Bend? It is doubtful that they would move on from Kelly after really only one poor season since his arrival in 2010. His Fighting Irish are 3-6 so far this season and have vastly under performed their expectations coming into the season. But who would Notre Dame turn to if they let go of Kelly? One name that immediately jumps to mind is current head coach of the Buckeyes Urban Meyer. He has said in the past that he once had an interest in Notre Dame as he was a Lou Holtz and Bob Davie assistant from 1996-2000 before getting his first head coaching gig at Bowling Green. I don’t see Urban leaving what he has built at Ohio State for anything right now, and believe he will retire as the Buckeyes head coach when he deems the time is right. Rest easy Buckeye fans, Notre Dame will not be taking our head coach.

Could the Domers try and lure Jon Gruden out of the Monday Night Football booth? Would Bob Stoops be willing to walk away from all the success he has built at Oklahoma? There are a lot of names out there that would love the Notre Dame job, but I honestly don’t believe that Notre Dame wants to go through another head coaching search right now, and believe that Kelly will right the ship next year.

Other Jobs to Watch:

Buckeye assistants could be coveted for a few jobs that might come open after the season besides the ones listed above. Boston College has been pretty terrible in the ACC under Steve Addazio and they are likely to make a coaching change. Kansas under David Beaty is 1-20 and doesn’t look to be getting better any time soon, will they give Ed Warinner a second chance to come back? Will Cincinnati move on from Tommy Tuberville at the end of the season? You would think that the Bearcats would want a head coach who can recruit Ohio well, and who better to do that than any of the assistants on the current Buckeye coaching staff.

It is likely that the current Buckeye coaching staff will be different heading into next season, as it is likely that at least one or maybe more will move on to head coaching jobs that will open up across the country. We know that Urban Meyer will keep bringing in top notch assistant coaches to replace them, as he has done so at every stop hes been at so far. A lot can change between now and the end of the season, so we will pay close attention to what jobs come open and see if any of the Buckeye assistants are candidates down the line.