Luke Fickell and Greg Schiano's Relationship Will Be Critical For Ohio State's Defense

By Tim Shoemaker on December 18, 2015 at 1:15 pm
Luke Fickell meets with the media.
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Urban Meyer said Thursday that Luke Fickell and Chris Ash's relationship was a big reason for Ohio State's defensive turnaround.

“Two incredible human beings,” Meyer said of Ash and Fickell.

With Ash to become head coach at Rutgers after the Buckeyes play Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, Meyer’s hope is the bond between Fickell and Ash’s replacement, Greg Schiano, will be similar.

“That’s the No. 1 thing when I try to hire someone is I’m looking for chemistry, good people,” Meyer said. “A guy like Greg Schiano, you have an opportunity to hire him, you have to make it work.”

Fickell and Ash worked together as co-defensive coordinators the past two seasons. The results have been staggering.

Heading into the game on New Year's Day with the Irish, Ohio State ranks 10th nationally in total defense, allowing 303.5 yards per game. The Buckeyes are second in the country in scoring defense, giving up just 14.0 points per contest.

Compare that to two years ago, during the 2013 season, prior to Ash’s arrival, when Ohio State's 47th-ranked defense surrendered 377.4 yards and 22.6 points per game.

Ash’s aggressive, press-quarters scheme was the biggest factor in that improvement, but Meyer said the way Ash and Fickell orchestrated their play-calling was vital to the Buckeyes’ success.

“I think that’s one of the strengths of what I do and one of the strengths of what we do here,” Fickell said. “It’s about your ability to adapt and work with everybody.”

Schiano said he spoke to Fickell prior to accepting his position with Ohio State; he wouldn’t have taken the job if he hadn't. The two haven’t talked extensively about anything philosophically just yet, but Schiano needed to speak with Fickell — and Meyer — about how things would work as co-defensive coordinators.

That's not an easy sell for a lot of people, especially for long-time head coach like Schiano.

“I had a chance to meet with Luke before I took the opportunity,” Schiano said Thursday during his introductory press conference. “He and I talked through a lot of different scenarios and I’m very comfortable with what I’m here to do and it’s going to be a great situation.”

Schiano admitted being a coordinator will be different. He noted he's not been anything but a head coach since 2000, when he was the defensive coordinator at Miami.

It will be an adjustment, as will coaching defense alongside another person. Schiano said he's looking forward to it, though.

“I haven’t been an assistant coach in a long time — 2000 was the last time,” he said. “Having been a head coach for so long, I think I can better serve our head coach now. Knowing what he needs, knowing what I needed as a head coach and maybe keep some things off his plate that can slow him down.”

Transition for any coaching staff can be difficult, but at a place like Ohio State — where coordinators get head coaching opportunities almost every year — it’s far from uncommon.

This particular situation is tricker, though, as Ash and Fickell worked so well together over the last two years resurrecting the Silver Bullets. Meyer said Fickell is the defensive coordinator and Schiano will slide in and fill Ash’s role.

The hope, of course, is there is no drop-off.

“I see Greg, once Chris leaves, assuming a very similar role,” Meyer said. “As you notice, I like to have two people kind of in that room. I don’t believe in dictatorships. I believe in teams and teams on staffs, too.”

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