Jim Tressel (10 years) and Urban Meyer (7 years) coached at OSU as long as the 17 years Nick Saban coached at Alabama. While the 17 years did not overlap exactly as Saban started coaching Alabama after Tressel started at OSU, but ended years after Meyer left OSU, there are many years of overlap.
Assume that your choice is either (1) Jim Tressel takes over at Ohio State in 2001, and everything plays out exactly as it did: He goes 9-1 vs. Michigan, wins the 2002 national championship, tattoo gate, happens, we have the Fickell year of 2011, and then Urban Meyer takes over in 2012, goes 7-0 vs. Michigan, wins the 2014 championship, and leaves after the 2018 season, followed by Ryan Day. No changes to the history of OSU football as we lived it.
OR (2) Nick Saban takes over OSU in 2001. Assume under this scenario, Tressel and Meyer NEVER coach at OSU. Saban coaches his 17 years at OSU and then retires. (Remember that Saban did have some ties to OSU as he was on Earle Bruce's staff at one point in the 80's before Bruce fired him).
I do not think Saban would have gone 16-1 against Michigan to match Tressel and Meyer. That record is just insane. I would say Saban would have been more like 12-5, maybe 13-4 against TTUN. I do think Saban likely would have won more than the 2 combined championships won by Tressel and Meyer. However, I do not think that Saban would match the 6 that he won at Alabama. I would give Saban 3, possibly 4 championships at the most if he was at Ohio State. Of course, we would not have had the memorable 2002 and 2014 seasons under this option. We know in the first option, Meyer had Day in place to take over and there was a very smooth transition. That would be different under this option as well, and who knows who would take over Saban at OSU.
Finally, assume further that in option #2, Tressel stays at YSU or another small-time program and OSU is not competing against him during this period. Also assume that Meyer returns to college football after leaving Florida, and ends up with a "big name" college team to coach, so OSU would be competing against whatever team he might have been coaching (maybe even Michigan or Notre Dame).
Because of my love for Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer, I would choose option 1. I can't picture OSU football history without these two great men coaching our team, even if Saban might have won more than their two combined national championships. Which option do you pick and why?
