Two weeks after Bill Sheridan's departure, Urban Meyer is this close to filling the vacancy on his staff with Cincinnati secondary coach Kerry Coombs.
While Ohio State has not confirmed the hire, Coombs' old boss, Butch Jones, spoke fondly of the departing coach, saying "I will always be indebted to him."
While Sheridan may have had a better resume, I can't help but think this is an upgrade. Coombs knows defensive backs -- he coached up future NFL draft picks Haruki Nakamura, Mike Mickens and DeAngelo Smith at UC -- he has deep roots to the Queen City region, having compiled a 161-34 record, including a 2004 Division I state championship at state power Colerain and he's a master motivator.
The Cincinnati angle is huge. Historically, the region has not been as kind to Buckeye recruiting efforts as Cleveland or Dayton and with former Bearcat coach Brian Kelly at Notre Dame, the bond between the city and that school are perhaps tighter than ever.
Coombs helps mitigate that with his deep connections to the area. At UC, he handled recruiting for the Cincinnati metro area (and the state of Indiana), so he already has inroads with many of the coaches in the region and will be a big part of locking down the entire state for Urban Meyer, not just the 85% Tressel had fenced off.
While Meyer himself is a master motivator, drawing on his degree in psychology, and we all know what Mickey Marotti brings to the table, you can't have enough of these guys around. Tyler Moeller, who played for Coombs at Colerain, told me that he still has Coombs' state championship speech recorded. It was that good.
Here's ESPN's Brian Bennett on Coombs:
I covered Coombs during my time as the Big East blogger and can tell you he is a fiery guy who was often the loudest voice at practice. It was impossible not to hear his raspy voice screaming both encouragement and criticism at his defensive backs after virtually every play. The Bearcats seemed to respond well to that style, and Kelly liked Coombs so much that he promoted him to associate head coach.
Need more proof of Coombs' fire? Check out this photo gallery.
ENTER SPARTA. Thanks to the win at Northwestern Wednesday night, the Buckeyes have clinched at least a 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, meaning they won't have to play until Friday, March 9th.
While the Spartans have locked down the conference's top seed in the tourney, Ohio State can still earn a share of the Big Ten regular season title by winning in East Lansing Sunday (4pm CBS). A win would also hand Ohio State the 2 seed in the tournament.
Michigan can also earn a share of the regular season crown by winning their final game at Penn State, and hoping for an Ohio State upset. This scenario has created surprising bedfellows.
The Dispatch's Bob Baptist breaks down all of the scenarios, but however you cut it, we're likely looking at a matchup with the Wolverines next Friday evening Saturday. Hate, hate, hate.
SPEAKING OF HATE... The #2 seed Lady Buckeyes will square off against #7 Michigan at 11:30am today on the Big Ten Network.
The two teams met just once this year, with Michigan snapping Ohio State's 15-0 start with a 73-62 win in Ann Arbor in early January. Nothing says revenge like Sammy P going off for 30 to get your weekend off to a good start.
Welsh-Ryan: No bad seats.
MR. BOOKMAKER. We are four days away from the release of Mark Titus' book, Don't Put Me in Coach, and Grantland featured an excerpt on Ohio State's Final Four run from 2006.
A sampling:
After we lost by nine in a hard-fought game, I walked off the court with a hanging head as orange and blue confetti fell from the rafters and thousands of Florida fans did their Gator Chomp. We came so close to achieving something I had dreamed about my entire life, but we were stopped short by a team featuring a guy whose ponytail looked like a wad of pubes. It was, without a doubt, the most demoralizing feeling of my life.
I'm halfway through an advanced copy of the book (we'll have a full review on Tuesday) and it's easily one of the funniest books I've read in a long time. The opening paragraph references morning wood on a road trip in Windsor and from there it's one story after another about Thad Matta's sense of humor, Greg Oden's overwhelming whiteness and wet jumpers.
HAPPY TRAILS, JORDAN WHITING. Linebacker Jordan Whiting made it official yesterday (on Twitter, no less), announcing his transfer to the University of Louisville.
Whiting was a four-star linebacker at Louisville Trinity High School and arrived at Ohio State as part of a 2009 class that has largely underachieved. Although he didn't see the field much in Columbus and will be remembered for accepting improper benefits, he handled his announcement with class and we wish him the best of luck at Louisville.
OUR BAD. Living in Chicago, I never miss a chance to catch the Buckeyes in Evanston and did so Wednesday night1. As you can see from the photo above, great seats are easy to come by in Welsh-Ryan and the game didn't disappoint with Sully hitting the game-winner with just a few seconds left on the clock.
Typically, I handle putting up the open threads for the games, but in my excitement to meet Adam from Oval Brewing at the only bar near Welsh-Ryan, I completely spaced and didn't schedule one. It won't happen again
STAFFING UP. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you're aware of the fact that Elika and Jeremy have moved on to Scout and Rivals, respectively. While we're still trying to determine if Elika will be able to write for us, we will be adding two to three more writers. If you or someone you know may be interested, please let us know.
DIVERSIONS: Courage Wolf fills out his bracket like a boss... Pure sass... Nailed it... Can I eat that? I'm BLIIIIIIIIIIND!
- 1 As if living up to stereotypes, a Northwestern fan seated nearby handed us two printed sheets at halftime, consisting of a list of 10 Ohio State basketball trivia questions and the corresponding answers. Love you, nerds.
