Despite unleashing arguably the best NFL Draft class ever, Ohio State failed to meet the towering expectations set before it during the 2015 football season.
Fresh off winning the first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship and still loaded with talent and experience, many believed Urban Meyer's Buckeyes would run roughshod over its competition and again find themselves at the sport's zenith by season's end. That didn't happen, as a late November home loss to Michigan State dashed any hopes the team had at even repeating as Big Ten champions.
The Buckeyes rebounded, though, and romped over Michigan 42-13 and then beat Notre Dame 44-28 in the Fiesta Bowl to finish the year 12-1. Inconsistencies on offense following the departure of Tom Herman to Houston and a back-and-forth quarterback battle between J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones kept the unit from reaching its potential until late in the season.
To no surprise, the offensive coaching staff highlighted those struggles and more on their performance reviews from the 2015 season. In addition, an improvement in players' GPA and recruiting represented overarching themes throughout each coach's review with Meyer.
The records are a result of an open records request submitted by Eleven Warriors Aug. 3 and filled Tuesday afternoon by Ohio State.
The majority of the staff completed its review June 21, though Meyer's with Ohio State Vice President and Director of Athletics Gene Smith happened exactly a month later. According to the documents, all reviews needed to be completed and returned to Human Resources by June 30, though it is not uncommon for that to be adjusted due to recruiting camps and other events happening in the summer.
Eleven Warriors did not request a performance review for former co-defensive coordinator Chris Ash because he did not complete one. Ash left Ohio State to become head coach at Rutgers after the team's Fiesta Bowl victory on New Year's Day.
Urban Meyer: Head Coach
Meyer received high praise from Smith, indicative of Ohio State's football team posting its highest graduation rate ever in addition to the team securing its 50th win in the coach's first four years. Smith evaluated Meyer on eight core competencies: Academic and competitive success of the program, commitment to compliance, student-athlete welfare, leadership, communication, budget management and public/donor relations. Of the eight, the only one Smith did not believe Meyer's performance exceeded expectations came in the competitive success of the program.
However, Smith gave Meyer an overall rating of exceeding expectations at the end of the review and called the 2015-16 season "tremendous on many fronts." He also noted the need for Meyer to stress continual improvement in "all phases" both for himself and his staff.
In Meyer's self-appraisal, the head coach's thoughts on his program's competitiveness fell in line with that of his boss. Meyer said his performance only met expectations, while he said he exceeded them in recruiting and student-athlete welfare (graduating players, internships).
Meyer said he faced two challenges last season: The loss of quality coaches and alignment amongst assistant coaches. He noted the same two things challenged him last year in his performance review. Meyer chose to move offensive coordinator Ed Warinner to the press box alongside quarterbacks coach Tim Beck both for the Michigan and Notre Dame matchups. Ohio State's offense performed at its best all season in those games.
Meyer wrote on culture and the need to continue and challenge players as ways he will improve himself and the program in 2016.
Finally, Meyer outlined four simple goals for himself in 2016: To graduate the senior class, to find a job for every player after football, win games and create and sustain a culture of performance on-field, in the classroom and in the community.
Ed Warinner: Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach
Warinner earned a promotion before last season, sliding into the offensive coordinator role left vacant by the departed Tom Herman. The shift and his responsibility of coaching the offensive line posed challenges, however, as he remained on the sideline during games until after Ohio State lost to Michigan State.
Still, Ohio State's offense finished second in the Big Ten in scoring and third in total offense in 2015. It led the league in rushing by a wide margin, a mark evident by having two first-round draft picks on its side in Ezekiel Elliott and Taylor Decker.
Warinner noted four things in his self-appraisal that he needed to work on: Making Ohio State the top offense in the country, unit GPA, continued creativity in recruiting and development of young players. Ohio State redacted unit's GPA on that second of the review, though interestingly released the offense's GPA as a whole. The group finished with a 2.7 mark, which Warinner listed among the positives in his performance.
Warinner gave himself a 4 on a 5-point scale in the "productivity of your unit" section of his evaluation. He wrote "improve efficiency in red zone and on third downs" in the comment section of that portion.
Warinner also gave himself a 4 or 5 in every section from the student-athlete relationship, football coaching and recruiting except for one line. He circled both 3 and 4 to grade his performance on social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Warinner graded himself a 5 on overall rating as head coach but left five goals beneath it, led by achieving consistency on offense.
Tim Beck: Co-Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach
Beck faced scrutiny following Ohio State's anemic offensive performance against Michigan State, though Meyer eventually pointed the finger at himself for the group only producing two touchdowns in the rain-soaked 17-14 loss to the Spartans. The ongoing quarterback battle between Barrett and Jones admittedly stressed Beck, which he noted in his self-evaluation. He gave himself a 3 when grading the productivity of his unit and a 4 on the performance of his players on the field.
Beck also graded himself a 3 — the lowest rank he gave himself — for his on-field demeanor, writing "Improving in this area but still need to be 'felt' more." He also added that he is "excited" for this upcoming year and feels more confident with where he stands in the program.
Somewhat interestingly, Beck listed becoming a head coach as the first of his personal goals moving forward.
Tony Alford: Running Backs Coach
Alford helped mold Ezekiel Elliott into the fourth overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft in his first season as an Ohio State assistant. He took over for Stan Drayton ahead of the 2015 season, who left to coach running backs with the Chicago Bears. Elliott further cemented his place as one of the best backs in the country last season, so it makes sense Alford listed high grades from his unit.
Names were omitted in one part of Alford's list of things he needs to work on for this season. He wrote he must "Transform [redacted] into next [redacted]." The names could be Mike Weber and Elliott, though there is no way of knowing for sure. Ohio State also redacted his unit's GPA and comments Alford wrote on his self-evaluation under "productivity and development of your players on field" and "productivity in recruiting."
Much like Beck, Alford also listed becoming a head coach among his three goals moving forward.
Zach Smith: Wide Receivers Coach
Injuries decimated Smith's unit in 2015. First Noah Brown went down with a broken leg in training camp, then Corey Smith suffered the same fate in October during Ohio State's victory against Indiana. Braxton Miller's move to H-back also forced Smith to expedite his teachings at wide receiver with one of the Big Ten's most electric players.
Ohio State's passing game struggled in 2015, but Smith did help turn Michael Thomas into a second-round draft pick of the New Orleans Saints in April. He wrote two things he needed to work on at the start of his review: Unit behavior both on and off the field and unit GPA, which Ohio State listed at 2.6.
The need to improve the wide receivers' academic performance also came up later in Smith's review. He graded his unit's production in that area a 3. Smith also stressed the need to improve his production in recruiting and off-field assignments.
Smith gave himself a 5 in his ability to use social media and all three categories of public relations: Involvement and visibility in community and surrounding areas, adept with media relations and has appropriate interpersonal skill when dealing with alumni, administrators and faculty in the community.
However, Smith only gave himself a 3 on his overall rating as a coach, writing "I should be the best asst. cch. in America."
Luke Fickell: Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers Coach
Fickell listed his unit's 2.7 GPA as a strength in his review, in addition to tackling, game planning, recruiting and a few other pieces. For things he needs to improve on, Fickell wrote creativity in recruiting to go with establishing the top defense in the country and development of young players.
Fickell cited the high number of Ohio State defensive players that were drafted in April, namely Joey Bosa, Eli Apple and Darron Lee in the first round. Joshua Perry went in the fourth round to San Diego, giving Fickell two draft picks from his unit. As a result, he gave the linebackers a 5 for on-field production. Off the field, he also evaluated his players highly, though did list that two younger players had issues.
Fickell continued to rate his performance as a 5 throughout his review, except for a few areas like using social media and professional development. He gave himself a 5 in his overall rating as a coach and commented, "Lots of these things are easy when (you're) at the best place in the country!"
Larry Johnson: Defensive Line Coach and Assistant Head Coach
Much like the majority of his colleagues, Johnson stressed the need for his unit to improve on its 2.5 cumulative GPA. He also said he needed to work on the development of young players and game planning.
Johnson also wrote that he was proud of the development of his second defensive line unit in 2015. Players like Mike Hill, Sam Hubbard and Tracy Sprinkle stepped up in the absence of a suspended Adolphus Washington and ejected Joey Bosa in the Fiesta Bowl.
Ohio State's defensive line coach stressed the importance of keeping his players accountable both on and off the field as well. Johnson awarded himself a 4 in the majority of areas of his evaluation, including his overall rating as a coach.
Kerry Coombs: Cornerbacks Coach and Special Teams Coordinator
Coombs highlighted his passion and unrelenting energy as positives to his performance in 2015, in addition to Ohio State's strong special teams — particularly kickoff and punt coverage. He highlighted his unit's GPA as an area to improve, though Ohio State redacted the group's cumulative average.
Coombs gave himself a 3 both in social and campus behavior of his players off the field, commenting "some struggles that have to be improved upon." He highlighted the eight players he helped earn commitments from as well: Austin Mack, Michael Jordan, Jake Hausmann, Drue Chrisman, Rodjay Burns, Wayne Davis and Jordan Fuller.
In his final comment, Coombs rated himself 4 overall as a coach and wrote, "I will continue to work as hard as I can to improve my performance and the performance of my unit."
Tim Hinton: Tight Ends and Fullbacks Coach
Meyer shifted Hinton to an administrative role and special assistant to the head coach upon hiring Greg Studrawa in January. As such, his review included a document dated April 5 outlining a coaching session that helped him adjust to his new position. Tight end Nick Vannett graduated and got drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in April.
Hinton's human resources manager circled "meeting expectations" to describe his performance at that point during the year. In his self-evaluation, Hinton wrote about the need to be more efficient and effective in recruiting.
Greg Studrawa: Offensive Line Coach
Studrawa did not take over as Ohio State's offensive line coach until Jan. 16 but still completed a review for his first six months on the job anyway.
Again, unit GPA represented a needed area of improvement. Studrawa's group posted a 2.6 cumulative average. Ohio State's newest staff addition also was the most thorough in leaving comments in his review, outlining how he needs to get closer with his players and their families and monitor how they are doing academically.
Studrawa rated himself a 4 overall as a coach and described how he feels he can be successful at Ohio State because he enjoys the culture and there is always a desire to improve. Academics and development of the offensive line represented the main points of his goals.
Mickey Marotti: Assistant AD, Football Sports Performance
Marotti is the man responsible for feeling the pulse of Meyer's football team during the offseason, a job that possibly took on even more weight this year due to the massive roster turnover. Meyer called it the "year of development."
Marotti graded his performance in 2015 highly, saying he exceeded expectations in the three main areas of his job. He also highlighted the number of players he helped mold into draft picks in April.
Marotti wrote that he attended conferences, the NFL Draft and NFL Combine to further his knowledge of sports performance. He lost assistant strength coach Kenny Parker to Houston and replaced him with Quinn Barham. The turnover represented one area that challenged him last year.
Marotti wrote that he intends to delegate more responsibilities to his strength team this year and grow as a leader. He said he intends to read 2-3 leadership and personal development books to do so.
Meyer broke down Marotti's performance into seven categories: Job knowledge, productivity and quality of work, communication, teamwork, personal conduct and accountability, leadership and management. Marotti exceeded expectations in all areas except management, according to Meyer.
