If there's one thing Urban Meyer could ever hold at a higher importance than winning football games, it's keeping continuity among his coaching staff.
OK, winning games is always going to be priority No. 1, but Meyer has never shied away from talking about the importance of keeping his coaching staff intact year-to-year. He allows coaches to leave and further expand his already extensive coaching tree, but keeping it the same helps ensure the cohesiveness needed to win championships.
That's why when Meyer promoted Ed Warinner in January and brought on Tim Beck to take over for Tom Herman as the team's quarterback coach, the head coach knew he was going to keep the newly minted offensive coordinator on the field during games.
"I'm going to keep him down. He's too good," Meyer said Tuesday. "He's the one, you pull him out, now, you've got a problem."
Warinner is more than good at what he does — he's a star in the college coaching ranks, known for molding offensive lines into battering rams that pave the way for smash mouth ballcarriers. His work up front with "The Slobs" has taken Ohio State's offense to new heights in the three years he and Meyer have been in Columbus, averaging 5.2, 6.8 and 5.8 yards per carry in each respective year.
Frankly, he earned his bump up the ladder from co-offensive coordinator to offensive coordinator — but don't think removing those two little letters from his title are going to change how he does things. At least not a whole lot.
"My job is to make sure we continue to operate at a high level and then to enhance the offense as we move forward," Warinner said Thursday. "So I'm not going to try to do anything other than continue to carry the banner of execution."
He hoisted that banner pretty high at the end of last season, when the Buckeyes and Ezekiel Elliott ripped through Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon en route to the national championship.
It's that success and his constant work with the offensive line that made him too valuable to be anywhere but the field on game day.
"The value of having him down there on the field for in-game adjustments is really priceless because he’s really good at what he’s doing," Chase Farris said. "He watches us every play so he knows what adjustments to make when we come off.”
That wasn't more evident than in the season's final three games. Ohio State racked up a ridiculous 878 rushing yards and was seemingly unstoppable no matter what they did offensively.
"He’s very honest, very blunt and to the point sometimes, but that’s why he’s such a good coach," left tackle Taylor Decker said. "He’s a perfectionist and won’t let any little detail get past him. I think that’s why we’ve been such a good offense.”
"We’ll be good with that," Warinner said of staying on the sideline. "I knew that was the way we wanted to go, and I don’t see that changing. It works.”
Warinner is a gym rat when it comes to watching film and learning any and all intricacies the game of football has to offer: "It's the reason I've dedicated my whole life to this is because I love the entire picture, the entire thing. I love run game, passing game, perimeter," he said. "Just all the positions, I'm really into all of them."
"He’s a perfectionist and won’t let any little detail get past him. I think that’s why we’ve been such a good offense.”– Taylor Decker
Such a mindset is why those within the program remain confident he'll be just as good as he was last year at what he does — even if he does have a little more responsibility.
"If you were in our meetings, you would definitely see that he’s still going to have that expectation," Decker said. "It can be hard to swallow that pill at times because you’re never going to catch a break, but as a player that’s a good thing. You don’t always want to hear those things, but you need to."
Warinner worked with Beck at Kansas in 2007 and thrust the Jayhawks into the National Championship conversation before winning the Orange Bowl. The two are back together at Ohio State again this season, another example of the staff continuity Meyer strives for, albeit slightly different.
"I'm not going to steer this thing in a different direction, I'm going to steer it down the path that (Meyer) wants, which has been a real successful path," said Warinner. "And my thing is, I guess my deal is always like perfection and toughness will be the two things that I've always harped on and will continue to do that.
"I’m not seeing anything I haven’t seen. We’re driven to try and be really good and demanding and get this team ready to have a good season.”
