The obvious answer is the current head coach of The Ohio State University Buckeyes Football team.
The real answer though is he is one of US. He is a Man of the Scarlet and Gray. He is a man who grew up loving Ohio State. He is a man who dreamed of playing for the Buckeyes. He is a man who has worked his whole life to become the Head Coach at this wonderful University we all love. He is a family man with a supporting and loving wife and beautiful children. He is a man in his later 30s who is living out his dream even if it is in a tough situation.
I watched his first press conference today as the head coach of OSU for at least the 2011 season and he did a really nice job of showing he learned well from the “Senator”. He answered questions with diplomacy and grace mixed with nervous pauses and looks that any person would have in his shoes. We didn’t learn a lot from his answers but if you watched his facial expressions you could sense his giddyness of having the job many of us would die to have. You could see the love he has for all things Scarlet and Gray. You could even sense the “hate” he has for TSUN whenever The Game was mentioned.
If you would have asked any of us last year at this time who we wanted to be our next HC at OSU after Tressel retires in a few years. I would venture 90% of us would have said Fickell first. After Tressel resigned some of us felt like the whole staff would be tainted and Fickell wouldn’t stand much of a chance to be the full time HC. When I polled my fellow fans and bloggers to a man we all thought Urban Meyer would be the best hire as the next OSU HC some of them may still think that way and that is fine. For me though it took one hour of watching him for me to remember why we all wanted him to be Tressels replacement when he retired after 2014.
To put it bluntly when I see Fickell and the way he carries himself he reminds me of myself and my friends who love OSU and write for this blog. He is never going to be flashy or “Tressel boring” either. He is his own man. He has a chance to make his own legacy. He loves Ohio State and everything that it stands for. He is one of Us…… a full fledged member of the Men of the Scarlet and Gray.
I agree completely. This guy has a passion for coaching and working with young men; he is a Buckeye through and through. Unfortunately, he is in a nearly no-win position. His team HAS to perform well for him to have a chance. He HAS to make the right personnel and game-plan decisions. Most important, he must CRUSH any rule breakers or malcontents quickly. If he can be seen to be “cleaning things up” and can also win, then he’s got a good shot at sticking around. As much as I hate to say it, I think The Game will have to serve as our Big 10 championship/bowl game for the next 3 years…but it’s a chance for Luke to put his stamp on the program.
GOOD LUCK, COACH!!
Couldn’t agree more, SYR. He does seem like one of us. I don’t think I would want the pressures of the job of OSU FB HC but I would love to pace up and down the sidelines.
He may be tainted and that may be the reason he isn’t hired long-term but if this season goes even remotely well then I think we should give him a chance.