Ohio State Football: Is Larry Johnson retiring?

The Ohio State football team has had some changes to the coaching staff already since the season has ended. I have been telling you guys that more changes could be coming, and one of the areas of the team that has the strongest personnel group on the entire roster.

Defensive line coach Larry Johnson has been thinking about retiring now that the season is over. Johnson has been at it for a while. He’s been coaching since 1974 and has been coaching in the Big Ten since 2000. He has had a long and illustrious career.

Johnson is sitting at 70 years old. Even if he doesn’t retire right now, he’s not going to coach much longer. There’s never a really good time to retire unless your team wins the national title. Then you can ride off into the sunset. Obviously, that’s not what happened for the Buckeyes this year.

If Johnson is retiring, defensive line recruits aren’t scared off. The Buckeyes just got another one yesterday in Hero Kanu. Kanu is the fourth defensive line recruit to commit to Ohio State in the 2022 class. They all seem to be committed to Ohio State as a program and not just Johnson.

The question would be, who would replace Johnson if he does retire? More than likely, it would be Al Washington. He would slide down from linebackers coach to get with the D-line and new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles would also coach the linebackers.

Having Johnson retire wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. While he is still an amazing recruiter, possibly the best in the business, the defensive line has shown cracks in their development. Maybe fresh blood in that room wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

We will obviously keep you advised on any developments that come about in the next few days and weeks.