How would you like to be handed the keys to a Ferrari, but later find out it goes 50 mph. This is the situation Head Coach Luke Fickell finds himself in. With all the player suspensions, OSU is limited in several key positions. When Terrelle Pryor left for the NFL, it left a huge void that Fickell is struggling to fill. Fickell arguably has the toughest coaching job in all of sports.
No doubt, watching Fickell on the sidelines, brings a little bit of discomfort to the fan who is rooting for him. Starting out the year, I had mixed feelings regarding Fickell, because I barely knew who he was. But, after watching his first press conference, I was won over. I immediately liked the young coach. He didn’t look fake, and he had charisma and a passion. He might not have been the most qualified for the job, but he was a true buckeye. In fact, Fickell was one of the toughest Buckeyes to ever go through the program. Just google Luke Fickell’s wrestling career and you will see he is one tough dude.
After the Miami game, my opinion began to shift. Not of Luke Fickell’s character, nothing had changed there. But, I started imagining what Buckeye football would be like with a bigger name. A guy like Urban Meyer. Meyer has been rumored as the next coach of Ohio State. He is a two-time National Championship coach for the Florida Gators. One of those Championships Ohio State would like to forget.
I started asking OSU fans what they thought of Fickell. I was surprised when most of the answers were negative. Things like “he is part of the old regime, we need a fresh start”. “He lied to us about the QB situation”. “He is putting Braxton Miller in a lose-lose situation”. “He looks confused on the sidelines”. “He doesn’t have an offensive mindset”. “He is the offensive/defensive coordinators puppet boy”, etc, etc, etc…
I tend to agree with some of these comments. I do believe Coach Fickell needs to just let Braxton Miller be the starter. He would without doubt make freshman mistakes. But, We are in week four and still the offense looks pitiful. The Miami game was embarrassing. One could say that most people with a limited arm could have completed four passes. We are already out of the top 25. Michigan is now ahead of us at 3-0. We are losing recruits to Michigan. We almost got beat by a MAC school from Ohio. Get the negativity drift?
I am not losing all hope in the new coach. But, if we don’t start having some positive signs that things will improve, I am going to start leaning in the direction that we need a big name coach. Someone who doesn’t look intimidated on the sidelines. Urban Meyer would bring the swagger, as well as a whole bunch of kids from Florida in the recruiting trail. Hopefully Coach Fickell can give me something to defend him on. But his limited resume, coupled with an unimpressive start to the season, is starting to wear on most OSU fans. But, if Fickell starts showing some positive results, most of us might jump back on the Fickell band wagon.
