Luke Fickell is set to wear two different hats for the next month.
Fickell is the next head coach at the University of Cincinnati, the Bearcats announced on Saturday. But like former Buckeye assistants Tom Herman and Chris Ash before him, Fickell will remain on Ohio State's staff as long as the team is in the College Football Playoff. Cincinnati's press release announcing Fickell's hire confirmed the news, in addition to saying it gave its new head coach a six-year deal.
Fickell will be introduced to the media at a 3:15 p.m. ET press conference Saturday on UC’s campus. He has agreed to a six-year deal which is pending approval by the UC Board of Trustees. The contract will be released to the public following that approval. Fickell will continue to serve as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator through the Buckeyes’ College Football Playoff run.
No. 3 Ohio State is scheduled to face No. 2 Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl at 7 p.m. ET on New Year's Eve. Should the Buckeyes defeat the Tigers, they will face the winner of the other national semifinal between No. 1 Alabama and No. 4 Washington in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Jan. 9 in Tampa.
Current Texas head coach Tom Herman remained Ohio State's co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach while the Buckeyes beat Alabama and Oregon to win the 2014 national title. He took the head coaching job at Houston in early December of that year.
Chris Ash was named the new coach at Rutgers in early December 2015. He remained Ohio State's co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach in the following weeks before the Buckeyes beat Notre Dame 44-28 in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year's Day 2016.
Fickell's Ohio State defense is rated fourth nationally, allowing only 281.6 yards per game in 2016. In 12 games, the Buckeyes allowed just 14.2 points per game, third-best in the nation.
