You don't start a head coaching career at a school like Ohio State, you end them there. Has there ever been a Buckeye head coach in the modern day that left and coached at another school? Will Luke be the first? The way this season is going, he just might be; but don't be too quick to draw conclusions.
So many of Buckeye Nation have ripped Fickell apart for his "decisions" on and off the field since taking over as head coach. Many debate whether he's just an interim coach or someone who deserves another shot next season. I mean, even Rich Rod got 3 seasons, and he never beat UM's two biggest rivals (OSU and MSU).
The big difference is that Luke doesn't run the show. You can tell by watching him and watching this team's progress. Listen to him at press conferences. He never talks about decisions that 'he' made or how 'he' is going to correct certain situations (i.e. that backup QB). It's always about 'we' and 'us', and it has to be that way. A co-worker becoming boss always has the makes of a disaster. We've all seen it in our own jobs, and people have a difficult time getting behind the vision of someone that used to work beside them. OSU knew this, and when Fickell was assigned to fill this coaching vacancy; it was just to give the position an identity or a face. He wasn't hired to mold this program around the vision that he has been building over the years which is what the head coach's role usually is. Was Luke ready? No way! Everybody knew he wasn't ready because he had no head experience whatsoever, but what coach could the Buckeyes have brought in with all the NCAA sanctions hanging over our heads? No head coach with a decent reputation wants to jump into a program that may have to be rebuilt from the ground up, so OSU did the best thing they could in hiring someone who is a Buckeye and who will keep some kind of stability in this transitional period.
Bollman runs this offense and has brought the majority of the negative attention on the program this season as far as what's happening on the football field. Strong statement, yes; but it's the truth. He continues to be bland, call bad plays, and backup one of the worst QB's in Ohio State history. It seems that the obvious is finally catching up with him as Kenny Guiton appears to be jumping up the depth chart, but we need to see a solid attack on the offensive side of the ball. I wonder if the changes he's made are all beacuse of fan complaints. Fans bring in the money, and OSU won't continue to sell out The Shoe with offensive performances like we've seen. High school teams have better balance than OSU, and it's coaching; not all on Braxton and the young receivers. The youth of our players and coach have brought on a few mistakes, but Bollman and his offense have lost many of these games this year. They had all off season to prepare these young guys. We didn't do anything at Miami or against Michigan State, and once our plan of relying on Braxton against Nebraska went down; we couldn't even manage to get a few first downs in a game that we had been dominating. Is he over-thinking everything or just too lazy to make sure that we have backup plans if the original plan doesn't work or is lost via injury? It's a good thing that OSU fans are educated enough to realize that this is on Bollman, otherwise Coach Fick would've been run out of town by now.
Even Luke knew he wasn't truely ready for this position. If the Buckeyes were winning, he'd be hoisted up as the savior to an ailing program. The fact is that the Buckeyes are losing far more games than the fans are used to, and he's taking heat in every press conference about his decisions with plays; players; and timeouts; some of which aren't even his choice. But he's the face, the guy who the casual fan looks to for all of their questions. This all was expected by Luke, so don't expect to see him lose his cool any time soon. He's a true Buckeye and will take the heat for what's happening, or not happening, this year. All Buckeyes will be grateful about 3 years down the road when they realize how important it was for him to step up and play this role. He didn't ask for it, but he will surely play it because of who he is...a Buckeye.
At the end of this season, changes will be made. Bollman and Siciliano are two obvious choices for replacement as they have struggled to get constant development from top-tier talent. As I stated earlier, you don't start head coaching careers here; and there's coaches, including coordinators and positions coaches, who are drooling over the young talent that's gaining experience. This university is too big to not have a coach who has experience and who is ready to keep the football program at an elite level.
You have to feel for Coach Fick and his decision to take this job knowing it wasn't going to be a long-term position and knowing that he would take heat for decisions that weren't his. This institution needs to regroup and get a fresh start, and that will happen just as soon as the last football game is played this year. The good news is Urban Meyer, who many are calling the next Buckeye Head Coach, has strong ties with Jim Heacock; so there's a chance that Buckeye fans will get the offense they want while keeping the defensive team in tact. Could Fickell step down and eventually take over for a soon-to-retire Jim Heacock? That question could be answered in a matter of a few months. Until then, Go Bucks!
