Ohio State men’s basketball has a new head coach while Ohio State football has an unexpected opening for a running backs coach. Both teams have championship expectations.
The Ohio State basketball coaching search ended over the weekend when Jake Diebler was promoted from interim coach to head coach. While Diebler has never been a full-time head coach before, making it anyone’s guess how he will ultimately fare as a long-term head coach, Ohio State is projecting nothing but confidence in Diebler, making it clear they believe he can build the Buckeyes back into a championship contender.
Ohio State football, meanwhile, had a surprise staff vacancy pop up last Wednesday when Tony Alford left the Buckeyes to become the running backs coach at Michigan. Ryan Day didn’t seem too concerned about Alford’s exit during his press conference on Tuesday, though, stating that Ohio State has already identified an “excellent” group of candidates and that he believes the Buckeyes can have “the best offensive staff in the country.”
Day also showed confidence on Tuesday in several players who are currently competing for starting jobs in spring practice, namely right tackle Josh Fryar, tight end Gee Scott Jr. and wide receiver Brandon Inniss, who all drew considerable praise from Ohio State’s head man after the Buckeyes’ third spring practice.
With spring practice back in full swing for Ohio State football, Ohio State men’s basketball looking to make an NIT run with its head coach, Ohio State women’s basketball hoping to make a deep NCAA Tournament run and three other Ohio State sports teams having a chance to win national championships this weekend, it’s an extremely busy week in Ohio State sports, giving us lots to talk about on this week’s episode of Real Pod Wednesdays.
The full rundown:
- 1:08: Jake Diebler’s hire came a bit sooner than expected, but it had good reason to make a move now
- 5:37: Ross Bjork makes it clear the expectation for Diebler is to win championships
- 7:08: Jake Diebler’s authentic passion for Ohio State can help him succeed as OSU’s head coach
- 15:12: Rebuilding the coaching staff, adding transfers among Diebler’s first tests as head coach
- 25:09: Getting back to the Sweet 16 should be the goal for Diebler’s first season
- 26:04: Tony Alford’s departure was a surprise, but Ryan Day expects an “excellent” replacement
- 27:25: Ohio State could be trying to pry DeMarco Murray away from his alma mater
- 29:33: It seems like both Day and Alford were ready for a change
- 30:35: Ohio State can afford to take its time with RB coach search because of who it has at RB
- 33:54: Robert Gillespie, Deland McCullough, Stan Drayton also among logical RB coach candidates
- 35:03: Ryan Day is smart to involve the current running backs in the RB coach search
- 37:15: Ohio State’s Jim Tressel-inspired special teams coaching plan appears to be a sound one
- 41:21: Buckeyes getting used to helmet communication, which could lead to more creative play calls
- 44:09: Josh Fryar solidifying his status as Ohio State’s starting right tackle so far this offseason
- 47:17: Gee Scott Jr. is putting himself in position to be Ohio State’s starting tight end
- 50:28: Brandon Inniss showing Ryan Day and us that he can be an impact player this year
- 55:12: Pro Day will give us our first real glimpse at Will Howard vs. Devin Brown
- 56:25: Ohio State women’s basketball can beat anyone at its best but faces tough road to Final Four
- 1:01:08: Women’s hockey, pistol and synchronized swimming are all on natty watch this weekend
- 1:03:02: Houston and UConn are our NCAA Tournament picks (plus a bonus NIT pick from Andy)
You can watch this week’s episode of Real Pod Wednesdays in the video at the top of the page, listen to the episode in the audio player below or subscribe to RPW on podcast streaming platforms including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
