The Ohio State Football team had their season end in disappointing fashion after losing to TTUN. In that game, they played their worst game of the season on both sides of the ball. It was an incredibly disappointing loss after having destroyed Michigan State the week before.
They lost this game because of coaching failure. The coaching staff didn’t make any adjustments after TTUN kept running the ball down their throat. In fact, the Buckeyes allowed 297 yards on the ground. This was after they held Heisman hopeful Kenneth Walker to 25 yards on just 6 carries.
Failure to make adjustments in the biggest game against your rival is inexcusable. Ryan Day claims that his team prepares for this game every week throughout the year. Despite that, they looked like they were the most underprepared team playing this weekend.
The failure to make adjustments should force a shakeup in the coaching staff. While Day will keep his job based on his accomplishments over the last few years, some assistant coaches won’t be so lucky. There are a few who shouldn’t be back next year based off their performance.
There are four coaches that I have singled out that should not return next season based on how the 2021 season went. It wasn’t just how the season ended to TTUN, but an accumulation of how the team played all season long on both sides of the ball.
The first coach who shouldn’t be back next year had his duties taken away early in the year after a poor performance against Oregon.
The first coach who shouldn’t be back next season is fairly obvious. Coombs is a fantastic recruiter and has brought some really good talent in. Denzel Burke is someone who is a star, even though he had worst game of the season against TTUN.
Coombs just isn’t good enough at the other aspects of coaching to warrant a position on this coaching staff next season and beyond. He had his play-calling duties stripped after the Buckeyes lost to Oregon in early September. After that, what’s left?
Coombs could have coached the secondary. That secondary was the worst unit of the defense all season long, although it wasn’t the one that underperformed the most (We’ll get to that later). There are other coaches who can recruit close to the level of Coombs and who can actually coach a defense.
If you lose the main function of your job your second year in that position after a poor first year, what value do you bring to the staff? Coombs is a heck of a man and has outstanding integrity. His outlook on life is great too. But this is a results-based business. He didn’t put out those results.
There was a chance that Coombs might look elsewhere after this season too. Losing those play-calling duties wasn’t easy on him. Now that the season’s over, I think it’s best for both parties that he moves on to somewhere else at this point.
The second coach who shouldn’t return is the person who took over Coombs’ play-calling duties.
I’ll give Matt Barnes some credit. He stepped into a tough situation after the Oregon game. He had to start calling plays on a defense he wasn’t supposed to be leading. After a rough first two games, the defense started to improve and it looked like it was going to be an average unit.
But there were signs that the unit was starting to crack again late in the season. The Buckeyes gave up 352 yards passing to Penn State. They allowed Purdue to put up similar yards through the air, and 31 points as well. The disaster against TTUN was the nail in the coffin.
The failure to stop the run against TTUN was what solidified the fact that Barnes needs to leave. Everyone in the country knew that TTUN was going to run the ball often. Yet, the Buckeyes still couldn’t stop them. They didn’t stack the box and let McNamara beat them.
Instead, TTUN ran it down Ohio State’s throat and ended up winning the game because of it. The offense wasn’t great against TTUN, but they still put up a decent amount of yards in bad weather. The defense was the reason why the Buckeyes lost that game.
The Buckeyes need a bigger-name guy who can coordinate the defense. They need someone who actually knows how to make adjustments in the middle of the game. They also need someone who can coordinate a scheme around the players they recruit.
For that reason, both Coombs and Barnes need to go. The next coach that shouldn’t return after this year is on the offensive side of the ball.
Greg Studrawa’s performance has been declining for some time, both with the on the field product and recruiting wise. There have been times where Stud has failed to get the best prospects in the state of Ohio on the offensive line. If you’re Ohio State, you should always be getting the best prospects from your home state.
The offensive line was extremely overrated this season. The decision to start three tackles on the offensive line this season had extremely missed results, especially in the run game. There were times that Ohio State couldn’t run because the offensive line couldn’t get their pad level low enough to get leverage.
That failure of being able to run the ball was a key issue late in the season. The Buckeyes struggled to run the ball against Penn State, Michigan State, and TTUN. If you have as many talented players on the offensive line as Ohio State does, that can’t happen.
Stud leaving would be best for both sides at this point. His failure to be develop better run blockers is a huge problem. The focal point of Day’s offense is running the ball. That sets up passing the ball down the field with some play-action plays. TreVeyon Henderson can only do so much n his own.
Honestly, the biggest issue with Stud is not seeing an improvement in the offensive line at the end of the season. Teams are supposed to improve as the season goes. That was not true for the offensive line in 2021.
The final coach who would be better off somewhere else is going to be controversial for some Ohio State football fans to hear.
Larry Johnson has been really good at his job for a long time. He has developed some really good players along the defensive line. Chase Young, the Bosa brothers, and Haskell Garrett are just some of the studs that Johnson has developed over the years.
Johnson is also a fantastic recruiter. He brought in both Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau in this year’s recruiting class, both were five-star defensive ends. That still has some value. Both players should be really good in the future.
But the defensive line, for how highly-touted it was, underperformed all year long. They weren’t able to get any pressure by themselves. The only time they were able to get any sacks was when Ohio State sent some extra blitzes up the middle or off the edge.
That alone isn’t why Johnson should leave. He has built up enough equity over the years to withstand one poor season from the defensive line. The problem is an accumulation of issues. Johnson is in his late 60s and isn’t getting any younger. He’s got a lot of mileage on him already.
Is it time for Ohio State to start looking elsewhere? Johnson could be looking to retire soon, which might benefit both he and the program. This might be the time for the Buckeyes to start fresh and get someone younger to coach the defensive line.
No matter what, the first three coaches on this list need to leave. None of them have the goodwill built up that Johnson has over the years, nor do they have the track record of success.