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“He does not have a weak area,” Holtmann said of Pedon. “I’m sure there are areas he says he can grow in and improve in, but I don’t think he has a significant weakness to him that he needs to now add in order to be a head coach. It’s just the right fit and the right timing, and it’s going to come sooner rather than later for him.”
"Sooner" could be as soon as the 2022 offseason. Given how close he has already come to a head coaching job, it’s difficult to imagine the annual coaching carousel not spinning his name into contention somewhere. And at some point, the right situation will solidify and Pedon, wife Stephanie and son Maddox will pack up and start anew.
It will be a moment both bittersweet and cherished. Although he is a people person with deep recruiting ties across the region, Pedon is not a self-promoter. He would rather talk about his players, Ohio State’s offensive game plan or even the minutia of Big Ten basketball history.
“When you are working in a happy place, I think it enables you to see things a little bit more clear because you’re not thinking through a desperate lens and you are able to judge each opportunity and look maybe a little more matter-of-fact and realize, 'I have a great situation here and I really believe in what we’re doing,' and that drives me.”
It also is what will likely drive him elsewhere eventually. But with Pedon, those roads could always lead back to Columbus again someday.