The Death of Tresselball – Who should be the next coach at Ohio St.?

Part two in a series about Ohio St. football and what comes next both for the Buckeyes and the rest of college football. Part one about the on-field effects in 2011 can be found here.

Let me dispense with this now. There is no way Ohio St. should hire Urban Meyer. The Florida job almost killed him and he probably should take more than one year off. I believe he will come back to coaching and I believe he should at some point, but only taking one year off the recharge the batteries would be insane. In fact, I believe Ohio St. is the perfect job for Meyer, in the future. That said, its not the place right now.

Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe
Thanks to coacheshotseat.com

My choice for the job is someone who will never get a sniff of it because of his low-profile, but would be great whether he succeeds or not. My choice is Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe.

Now you might be asking what I am on or if I've lost my mind here but hear me out please. Why would Grobe be a good fit at Ohio St. considering he has never won big? First, he was the head coach at Ohio. That means he has recruited the state before and will allow him (along with the Ohio St. name) to continue recruiting the best in-state prospects.

Second, he won a conference title at Wake Forest. The only thing more difficult to do in the ACC is to win the conference title at Duke (something only Steve Spurrier has done in the modern era). That season shows me that when everything lines up, Grobe can win big and with the talent that naturally flocks to Columbus, everything will line up more often. Will it be Tressel level good? No, but that's the point.

The reason is Grobe's age. At 59 (60 starting the 2012 season), he can be easily jettisoned if things don't work out, right as the probation ends. He very well might only go for five years even if successful. That makes him the perfect fit. Grobe can win big or win moderately. It doesn't really matter. He will have done a nice service getting the Buckeyes through probation, and he can retire off into the sunset leaving the job in either great shape or sleeping giant mode for whoever follows him.

Depending on when that follows him comes, Meyer very well might be ready and available at that time. Even if he is not, there will be no shortage of incredible candidates for the job that might not be there now because of Tressel's legendary status and the probation that is obviously coming. So simply, the Buckeyes should look to Jim Grobe to hold the line. They might win big with him or they might not, but they will certainly set the program up well for the future if they make the move.