HitsRus;980366 wrote:^^^I don't think it is a matter of "not wanting Urban Meyer". But from my standpoint, The value of coaching continuity and program consistency cannot be discounted both in terms of team performance and abilty to recruit. If you hire a coach that will only be there a few years, he barely gets his players in place before he is leaving. Also it makes it more difficult to recruit towards the latter years as prospective players are uncertain who their coach will be in a year or two. To that point, I was hoping that Fickell would show enough that one could be fairly certain that he was a young lion that could serve for 20 years. Certainly that might have been the case IF OSU had won out after the win over Wisky....but the losses the past two weeks have exposed weakness....most likely fatal in terms of his ability to take the reigns immediately at OSU.
Fickell was never meant to be anything more than a placeholder. Ohio State is not the place you let your coach do his on the job training; Fickell knows this, and was likely told when he took the job that he wouldn't keep it. However, a deal may have been made that he'll remain on the staff of the new coach for at least a year so things can sort out (he'll either take a head coaching gig at a smaller school to get experience, or the next coach like his work and keeps him.)
As for Meyer...IF he's the guy (and I surely hope he is) making the assumption he's only going to stay a few years is just that; a major assumption.
If he stays 10 years, he gives OSU about the same amount of time as most coaches have, outside of Woody who was a major exception.
That would be more than enough to create continuity and bring in top recruits that will re-invigorate a program that was due for a down period. The key is to keep that down period to a year or two at most, before rising back up.
Meyer can do that and will, if he's hired.
He's the perfect candidate for OSU: an Ohio-born guy who loves OSU and its history; someone who has strong ties still back in Ohio and would have no problem getting instant credibility with Ohio high school coaches.
Let's hope it happens sooner, rather than later.
