Who's the Greatest Buckeye Head Coach? (Please vote for ONE)

[Best Buckeye]

I'm only 36.

I read Jack Parks OSU football encyclopedia(and anything else related to the history of OSU football) like other people read Tom Clancey novels.

Thats why I get so pissed when people ignore the old timers in these GOAT polls. You didn't have to see them play to read about them, think for a few seconds and be impressed.

Good , I am impressed with your knowledge. And yes they are Goat pulls but it alleviates the boredom.
maybe we should be more informative in our threads. How say you?

 

[Jaxbuck]

And if it wasn't for Woody we would not have the tradition we have today.
true Woody was on the ropes early in his career but he survived and that is what makes Woody what he is. I don't claim that Woody is the father of OSU football . I said that he is responsible for the traditions we enjoy today. Not even that he started them. But envision a football team that had a new coach every couple or few years . Where would our tradition be then?

Flip side of that is with the passion for excellence that has always been demanded of OSU football they would have found the right guy eventually.

I'm not arguing Woody wasn't great, just that I think they would have gotten there with someone else had it not been Woody, the same as I think we would have eventually found the right guy had it not been JT.

All in all, I'm glad we've been lucky enough to have both.

 

[Jaxbuck]

Good , I am impressed with your knowledge. And yes they are Goat pulls but it alleviates the boredom.
maybe we should be more informative in our threads. How say you?

I've tried that then it seems I still see the poll where Hop Cassady isn't a concensus top 3 all time multi purpose player and I get so frustrated I stay away from it.

But yes, when I'm not frustrated I think to myself we should do a better job of educating younger guys on the older players.

 

[Best Buckeye]

Flip side of that is with the passion for excellence that has always been demanded of OSU football they would have found the right guy eventually.

I'm not arguing Woody wasn't great, just that I think they would have gotten there with someone else had it not been Woody, the same as I think we would have eventually found the right guy had it not been JT.

All in all, I'm glad we've been lucky enough to have both.

Ah but we didn't find the right guy instead of Woody because we had Woody. It took us , what , 18 years to find JT?. You are right about having them both.

 

[Jaxbuck]

Ah but we didn't find the right guy instead of Woody because we had Woody. It took us , what , 18 years to find JT?. You are right about having them both.

Yes, those gaps in between the right guy can get down right ugly. Just ask our friends from South Bend.

Which brings up a point about Earl and Coop. Even though they had their shortcomings (I was a zealous Coop basher from early on) when you look around the CFB landscape a school could do a whole lot worse for a place holder kind of coach than those two guys.

 

[OCBucksFan]

Which brings up a point about Earl and Coop. Even though they had their shortcomings (I was a zealous Coop basher from early on) when you look around the CFB landscape a school could do a whole lot worse for a place holder kind of coach than those two guys.

Looking at Nebraska and Notre Dame, I have to say great post.

 

[BrutusBobcat]

Jax, these are exactly the threads when history should be brought up. Your best chance to educate is in a thread like this, which gets a lot of views and traffic. If one person's curiosity is piqued enough to go pick up Park's book, then it's all worth it.

It is a little eye-opening to see that some people aren't aware of Paul Brown's history, and if the question is "who is the finest football mind ever to stand on an Ohio State sideline?", then Brown should be the clear winner. He is responsible for the Massillon tradition (they have their own Paul Brown Stadium, as most people know), he created both Ohio NFL franchises (bringing pro football back to Cleveland after the departure of the Rams) led Ohio State to it's first national title in his second year, coached Ohio State's first Heisman winner, and was one of the NFL's greatest coaches. When we talk about the football tradition in Ohio overall, Paul Brown's name has to be central to that conversation.

Now, if the question is "which Ohio State coach had the greatest career while in Columbus?" then there's no argument at this point in time that it's Woody. His longevity as coach, his emphasis on existing traditions and identity, his development of The Game as college football's greatest rivalry during the advent of televised college football, his Heisman winners, his Big Ten and Rose Bowl championships, and of course, his 1968 team (which can arguably be called the greatest Ohio State team ever) are the gold standard of career accomplishments here. His overall career also stands as one of the greatest ever for a college coach.

The fact that we can even consider JT alongside both Paul Brown and Woody Hayes says an awful lot about his tenure to date. Looking at how recruiting is currently going and the stable of young talent that he currently has, as well as looking at the capabilities of his coaching staff and his continuing development as a head coach, it's fair to project that the next four to five years will be good ones as well. If the next seven years hold a similar number of wins, Big Ten titles, another Heisman winner, another national championship, more BCS bowl wins and a continuing record of graduating players who represent the university well as the previous seven, then this is going to be a very interesting conversation in 2014.