...and so on."Jim has indicated to me he is satisfied with his salary. He is aware of the financial situation we all face in athletics..."
Make no mistake about it, should the market dictate otherwise, the university should continue to show the same good will towards Tressel as they have repeatedly in the past and keep his contract on par with fair market value. Keeping up with the joneses aside (and not discounting any and all recent successes), neither party should have any real incentive to look elsewhere at any point during the first half this next decade.
Hartman also went on to beat me to the punch on a sentiment I think many observers of the program feel very strongly, that it shouldn't come as any kind of surprise if 2014 marks the end of the Jim Tressel-era in Columbus. While the conclusion of that season would find Jim Tressel just 62 years young, he's made it abundantly clear in the past that he has no real interest in sticking around past the point of diminishing marginal returns on his worth as Buckeyes head coach, nor does have the desire to represent the university in his present role in the same fashion Joe Pa or Bobby Bowden have and did respectively well into their later stages in life. That being said, it's absurdly premature to mince words over potential hypothetical successors, be it from within the current staff or a potential outside hire. There isn't another coach in the country better suited to be an ambassador for The Ohio State University, and any fan of the school in each of the next 4 season (or beyond) should be feel honored and privileged as such to have him representing them.
UPDATE: In perhaps the strongest indication yet that this next class of freshmen could be the last Jim Tressel oversees graduating, the Dispatch's Ken Gordon revealed this very intriguing new additional contract detail:
If Tressel steps down before deal is done in Jan. 2015, OSU makes him an assoc. athletic director, pays 150k
Comments
Great for recruiting but he will retire before 2015.
In other news, Markell has done a lot for the hockey program, but they have not improved the past few years so change was necessary.
Booster money dried up for Markell. The writing was on the wall.
Darrell Hazel come on down. If Tressel could pick, I definitely think he would be the next head coach at Ohio State (he is currently listed as the assistant head coach).
We will see what happens.
Time to savor the Vest while we still have him, fellas.
We MUST make this happen:
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/f...
I feel bad for Natalie, cause Lane's gonna get all the votes....
Sad sad day in Columbus when the vest leaves. He is Ohio State. Conservative, old school, the best.
Gulbis wasn't going anywhere in that bracket anyway...
Maybe he'll run for senate.
Yeah, I'm definitely going to miss watching Tressel coached ball teams. I'm one who kind of enjoys the close games and the drama they bring. I do get frustrated at times, but overall am very happy. It'll be a great loss seeing Tressel the man go too. He has great values and is a class act, hopefully he has some influence on who his successor is, so someone we can all be proud of off and on the field takes over the position.
I sent JT an email congratulating him and he wrote back that he is blessed to be at tOSU. Made me cry
Maybe by 2014 Spiel's will be ready to take on some coaching aspect as well. He'd be a great on and off field leader. Not saying head coach, but LB coach, D coordinator, that would suit him well.
I'd hate to see such a great person in such a sleasy profession.
It amazes me that he takes the time to email fans back, I know you have had previous contact with him before, but do you think very many D-1 coaches that are in the middle of getting ready for spring ball and spring games would take the 30 seconds to respond to fan emails.
Would love to see Spiels brought in somehow.
As for when JT does depart, what about Pelini?
I've heard that he is very likely, and I would welcome him.
Luke Fickel will be the next head coach.
That would be a great addition. Plus I've always hated Nebraska. Wouldn't it be great if he made them top 5 again then in 4 years says F you and takes off for Columbus.
When do we play Nebraska? If I remember correctly, there is a home and home scheduled some time down the line.
He's leaving before 2015??? Doesn't he want to stick around to see Brutus ride around the sidelines on his brand new Hoverboard?
Can I throw this out there... Suppose scUM does just well enough over the next couple years or (gasp) catches lightning in a bottle and wins more than 7 games at some point over the next few years (bottom line: Keeps Rich Rod in AA). Or, he bombs and they hire Les Miles.
So.... 2014 comes along, The Vest retires and...oh...I dunno..... Harbaugh is still at Stanford?!!?
I think I can predict the general, "He's not a Buckeye..." reaction, but he'd be just as motivated to stick it to them.... wouldn't he?
If I had to pick a top five in all seriousness, I would say (Urban Meyer, intentionally excluded):
Stoops
Pelini
Ferentz
Hazel
Fickell
One of the jobs that Meyer would leave FLa for is tOSU, just saying.
I am assuming his "family commitment" will "kick-in" sometime in the next four years ;)
HA!
only if his "family commitment" doesn't kill him first
Yeah, I am all for Fickel as head coach and Hazel as O-coordinator. Honestly, with how good those two are at recruiting, and how many NFL players they've developed, could you really complain? For all the complaints about JT not going out and getting big names, the assistant coaches have really produced.
The only position on OSU's squad you can really bitch about during Tressel's tenure has been the O-line, and I doubt Bollman outlasts Tress.
Hope not.
I'd rather have Stoops or Pellini than Meyer. I can imagine the Ferentz would be really good at a school like OSU though. To get the recruits and teams he does in Iowa is a hard task.
Wouldn't it be awesome if he retired 15-1 against Michigan. That's the achievement I'm hoping for, set the bar high for any coach that follows.
Sorry 13-1
He is special, no doubt about it. If you recall he gave me tickets to the UM game in '08. I emailed him last year after the Purdue game because he was getting raked over the coals by our own fans. Told him the same thing I said yesterday: He is only man I want coaching my Buckeyes.
I feel the same way, after the Iowa game I was listenning to a post game show on my way home as I live in Kentucky and it's about a 110 miles back home and all these morons were calling in saying they should be fired, and dump Pryor too. I heard one guy say they'd trade Tressel and Pryor with UC for Kelly and Pike. I just kept thinking what a bunch of idiots. They sounded like UK basketball fans that night. I guess people forgot just how bad it got towards the end with Cooper. Anyway, I've never talked to the man or had any communication with him, I just have a ton of respect for the guy.
I was at the Iowa game too. I was the blond with the Ohio State sweatshirt. Did you see me?
I recently went on the Buckeye Cruise for Cancer (you should go). I took Football 101(for ladies only) with Craig Krenzel and Ryan Miller. I could teach the class but I really enjoyed it the year before. Todd Boeckman came in and talked about QB mechanics. As the session wound down I took the mic and told Todd how much I appreciated all that he had done at tOSU although his career did not end the way he expected. All the ladies (about 50) gave him a standing ovation. He walked over to give me a hug and had tears in his eyes. I told him I did that to try in make up for our idiot "fans" who booed him. What a really nice young man
You were the one!