Word is that Sports Illustrated is about to publish a cover story alleging even more violations. That's what one of the ex-buckeyes said on ESPN today. It was time to cut the losses and do some damage control.
Agreed, if OSU didn't force Tressel out, they'd have a LOT more to worry about than just probation and a few schollies pulled. And that hammer may still drop.
By the way, when can we expect ESPN to air a massive expose of pervasive shady practices in the Big 10 because of this, the way they would've done for the SEC if/when Auburn gets busted? Maybe on "Outside the Lines"?
Thank you, Coach Les Miles, for running a clean program here at LSU. I kinda feel sorry for my friends how are OSU fans, but only just a little. The rest of me is quietly chuckling at their misfortune. I hear there's a giant going away party being thrown in Tressel's honor, they are calling it "The University of Michigan".....
the Ohio St coaching search should be interesting. will they flop in their selection like ND, Michigan, Tennessee, USC, Miami, etc all did recently? going with the assumption that Ohio State is unwitting victims of Tressel’s dishonesty, and that Ohio State won't see any postseason bans or scholarship reductions... Ohio State is one of the best coaching jobs in the country. they don't need to rebuild and they have the stable recruiting base to field a national title contender every season. It’s a top five job. over the last 60 years, every coach of Ohio State has won national coach of the year and each one of them have been elected into the college football Hall of Fame (Tressel would be a shoe-in for the HOF if wasn't for his dishonesty): --Woody Hayes 1951-78 (.761 win pct) - NCAA Coach of Year in '57, '68, '75 --Earle Bruce 1979–87 (.755 win pct) - NCAA Coach of Year in '79 --John Cooper 1988–00 (.715 win pct) - NCAA Coach of Year in '86 --Jim Tressel 2001–11 (.828 win pct) - NCAA Coach of Year in '02 (also Div-2 Coach of Year in '91, '93, '94, '97) with that in mind, I'd imagine that two names Ohio St is going to go after are TCU's Gary Patterson and Boise State's Chris Petersen. also, they have a long list of coaches with strong Ohio ties they can go after: Jon Gruden -- born in Ohio, went to college in Ohio (Muskingum then Dayton). he was offered the head coaching job at Ohio State in 2001 (his last year coaching the Raiders), but he turned it down and Ohio State hired Tressel instead. This is what Gruden said recently during a speech at Ohio State: “I really love it. I grew up in Ohio. My mom’s from Ohio. My dad’s from Ohio. My brother just signed up with the Cincinnati Bengals, so I get excited about coming back to Ohio State,” Gruden said Friday after serving as the keynote speaker for the 80th annual Ohio State Football Clinic in Columbus. “Woody Hayes is a big reason I got into coaching. He was my idol as a kid.” ... “We used to get our heads stomped on by Woody Hayes, but I love the fight song and I'm proud to be a Buckeye,” Gruden said. Urban Meyer -- born and raised in Ohio. he went went to college in Ohio (Cincinnati). he got his first coaching job at a high school in Ohio. he got his first head coaching job in Ohio (Bowling Green). and he got his first collegiate coaching position at Ohio State in the 80's under HOF HC Earle Bruce, and said this regarding the first time he held an Ohio State jersey: "I had tears in my eyes," Meyer told author Buddy Martin in the new book, Urban's Way. "I remember grabbing a scarlet and gray jersey and going, 'Wow!' I mean, 'Wow! I'm here.' Every kid growing up in Ohio wants to do that." Meyer is such a fan of the late Woody Hayes that he has a sketched portrait of the Ohio State coach hanging in his home in Gainesville, Fla., Martin writes. Nick Saban -- former Ohio State coach (he coached DBs at Ohio State in the 80s under HOF coach Earl Bruce). he was born right across the border from Ohio in WV. went to 4 years of college in Ohio (Kent). he got his first coaching job in Ohio (3 years in Kent). Got his first head coaching job in Ohio (Toledo). he got his first NFL DC job in Ohio (4 years in Cleveland). also coached 10 years at Michigan State (the last five as HC), which is right across the border from Ohio. also coached 2 years in WV, which is right across the border from Ohio. Les Miles -- born and raised in Ohio, but played and coached for Michigan, so it would be shocking if they went after a Michigan man Bob Stoops -- born and raised in Ohio. got his first coaching job in Ohio (Kent). his older brother Ron is currently coaching in Ohio at Youngstown St Mark Stoops (who has been doing a good job as DC of Florida St) -- born and raised in Ohio and coached football 4 years for an Ohio high school. Bo Pelini -- born and raised in Ohio. went to college at Ohio State (team captain and played free safety for the Buckeyes under HOF coach Earle Bruce as freshman and then under HOF coach John Cooper his sophomore to senior years). coached at a high school in Ohio. got his Masters degree at Ohio University. Gary Pinkel -- born and raised in Ohio. went to college in Ohio (Kent). got his first coaching job in Ohio (2 years in Kent). also coached 2 years at Bowling Green in Ohio. got his first head coaching job in Ohio (Toledo) where he coached ten years and led Toledo to a 73-37-3 record. since then he has been head coach of Missouri (77-49 record including three 10-win seasons in the last four years: 10-4, 10-3, and 12-2) Mark Dantonio -- was raised in Ohio. got his first coaching job at Ohio University. got his first head coaching job in Ohio (Cincinnati). coached at Ohio State in the 80's under HOF coach Earle Bruce and was the DC at Ohio State in the 2000s under Tressel (also coached on Tressel's coaching staff at Youngstown in Ohio). in all, coached 15 years in Ohio (at Ohio State, Ohio U, Akron, Youngstown, and Cincinnati). led Michigan State to 11-2 record last season Lou Holtz -- i would laugh so hard if they got grandpa Lou. he coached at Ohio State in the late 60s under HOF coach Woody Hayes. Holtz grew up in Ohio and he went to college in Ohio (Kent)
All those candidates have Ohio ties...born there, went to school there coached there. If he was alive, O Henry (William Sidney Porter) would have been a good candidate...he wasn't born in Ohio, but did five years at the Ohio Penitentiary. While he was in Houston, the First National Bank of Austin was audited and the federal auditors found several discrepancies. They managed to get a federal indictment against Porter. Porter was subsequently arrested on charges of embezzlement, charges which he denied, in connection with his employment at the bank. Porter's father-in-law posted bail to keep Porter out of jail, but the day before Porter was due to stand trial on July 7, 1896, he fled, first to New Orleans and later to Hondouras. While holed up in a Trujillo hotel for several months, he wrote Cabbages and Kings, in which he coined the term "banana republic" to describe the country, subsequently used to describe almost any small, unstable tropical nation in Latin America. Porter, having little to say in his own defense, was found guilty of embezzlement in February 1898, sentenced to five years jail, and imprisoned on March 25, 1898, as federal prisoner 30664 at the [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_Penitentiary"][/ame]Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus, Ohio Sounds like he'd have fit right in there at Ohio State !!!!
Meyer left one of the cushiest HC jobs in the country due to his health problems. With that hanging over his head I can't imagine him taking over yet another high-profile program that will generate just as much fan expectations and the stress that comes with them. Keep in mind also that unless their BOS cleans house, the coaching search will be held by the same brain trust that played "see/speak/hear no evil" games with the NCAA since December. Their handling of the situation has become a laughing stock. I'm not so sure a genius pick is forthcoming from this bunch, even if they throw the whole war chest at him.
