There are parallels between the hiring of Jake Diebler and the hiring of Ryan Day, though they didn’t follow the same line.
Neither entered the job with previous head coaching experience. Both were internal promotions.
While Day was earmarked as the heir apparent to Urban Meyer, one of the most successful coaches in Ohio State history entering his second round of retirement from the profession, Diebler went from interim to full-time coach following the firing of a maligned Chris Holtmann.
From an athletic department perspective, however, Gene Smith believes the approach should be the same with Diebler as it was with Day during his first few seasons – support and cultivate the coach as a leader.
“My blessing in working with Ryan was, really, watching him over the years grow as a leader,” Smith said last week. “Remember, he wasn’t a head coach before. All of you (media) watched it and were a part of it in so many different ways, watching him grow as a leader. Now – I was at practice whenever it was, watching him and (offensive coordinator) Chip Kelly and (defensive coordinator) Jim Knowles standing out there on the field and I’m like, ‘OK. We’re there.’”
One can look at Day’s first few campaigns and see where there was a lot for him to learn.
Some of the hardship was beyond his control, or anyone’s, in the form of COVID-19 and the shake-up it provided to both the sports world and the world at large. But beyond that, there was a transfer portal and NIL to strategize about, coaching staff changes and even the less concrete nature of how to lead a team rather than just one position or an offense.
While there hopefully won’t be another pandemic in his tenure, Diebler will have to navigate a lot of uncertain roads for the first time as a new head coach.
“The same thing will be true for Jake,” Smith said. “While Jake is phenomenal in so many ways, there’s gonna be a lot of things along the path from a leadership point of view that he will have to learn and ultimately need support around.”
Ultimately it wasn’t Smith who led the coaching search and hired Dielber, that distinction belongs to incoming athletic director Ross Bjork. Bjork eyed leadership qualities he liked in his conversations with Diebler and in his piloting of the team while interim coach. Bjork also pointed to Diebler's authenticity and recruiting acumen when talking about why he won out in the coaching search on March 18.
“Either you have the wherewithal or you don’t,” Bjork said. “He outcoached coaches that have been doing this a long time. Strategy, substitutions, timeouts, so as you observe that you say, ‘OK, do you have that wherewithal?’ Clearly, he has a whisperer, he has his dad in his ear, that born-to-coach mentality.”
From Smith’s perspective, Bjork’s already gone to work helping Diebler develop.
The first steps in building a program are talent acquisition and hiring the best staff possible. Diebler made a splash by hiring NC State assistant Joel Justus, who brings a proven recruiting and offensive track record to Columbus.
“Just alignment,” Smith added for what’s important to assist Diebler. “Helping him like (Bjork) has done with his staff and helping Jake grow as a leader.”
Part of aiding in someone's development is simply being an ear to listen and bounce ideas off of, Smith said. It’s not about meddling in team decisions, but rather challenging why those choices are made to ensure that they’re confident ones.
“Being that conscience,” Smith said. “Talking it through with him, ‘Jake, OK, let’s talk through that idea a little bit. Help me understand this, I’m a little curious on this.’ Not that you’re saying you’re against it or for it, you just challenge him on that thinking. And then helping him on that path to get there.”
As Ohio State continues rounding out its roster for his first full season at the helm, Diebler will look to his athletic department for support in his development as a head coach.
