Who Is the Greatest Buckeye Head Coach (Football)?

[LordJeffBuck]

Welcome to the nineteenth and final installment of the "Greatest Buckeyes Ever" poll - this one allows you to vote for the best head coach.

Please vote on each poll, if you can. Also, please note that each poll will allow you to vote at least twice, as we would like to compile a first and second team. If you vote for "other", please let us know your selection(s) by setting forth the name(s) in a post.

Polls will be posted as follows:

1. Quarterback (CLOSED - Rex Kern is the first team QB, with Craig Krenzel as the second team selection)
2. Tailback (CLOSED - no surprise: Archie is first team, Eddie is second)
3. Athlete (CLOSED - Paul Warfield and Chris Gamble are first team; Cie Grant and Brian Bashnagel are second)
4. Fullback (CLOSED - Pete Johnson first team and Jim Otis second team)
5. Wide Receiver (CLOSED - Cris Carter and David Boston first team, Michael Jenkins and Joey Galloway second team)
6. Tight End (CLOSED - John Frank first team, Rickey Dudley second team)
7. Offensive Tackle (CLOSED - Orlando Pace, John Hicks, and Korey Stringer first team; Jim Davidson and Chris Ward second team)
8. Offensive Guard (CLOSED - Jim Lachey and Jim Parker first team; Rob Murphy and Ken Fritz second team)
9. Offensive Center (CLOSED - LeCharles Bentley first team, Jeff Uhlenhake second team)
10. Defensive Tackle (CLOSED - Dan Wilkinson and Jim Stillwagon first team; Tim Anderson and Jim Marshall second team)
11. Defensive End (CLOSED - Mike Vrabel and Will Smith first team; Alonzo Spellman and Matt Finkes second team)
12. Linebacker (CLOSED - Chris Spielman, Andy Katzenmoyer, and Tom Cousineau first team; Randy Gradishar, Pepper Johnson, and Matt Wilhelm second team)
13. Safety (CLOSED - Jack Tatum and Michael Doss first team; Tim Fox and Damon Moore second team)
14. Cornerback (OPEN - Shawn Springs and Antoine Winfield lead)
15. Kicker (OPEN - Vlade Janakievski and Dan Stultz lead, with a populist uprising for Mike Nugent)
16. Punter (OPEN - Surprisingly, Andy Groom leads over Tom Skladany and Tom Tupa)
17. Current Buckeyes (OPEN - Ginn, Hawk, and Nugent lead)
18. "Old Time" Buckeyes (OPEN - Chic Harley, Vic Janowicz, and Les Horvath lead)
19. Head Coach (OPEN)

So, please vote now for the greatest Buckeye head coach; please make TWO selections.

Note on candidates:

Paul Brown coached OSU for only three seasons (1941-1943), but managed to win a national championship (1942) during that brief time. His overall record at OSU was 18-8-1 (.685 winning percentage). Brown's greatest achievements were in professional football, where he forged a dynasty with the Cleveland Browns.

Woody Hayes is a college football legend who won four national championships at Ohio State (1954, 1957, 1961, 1968). However, Woody fell short several more times (1969, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1975), and his notorious temper finally cost him his job after the infamous 1978 Gator Bowl (a 17-15 loss to Clemson) during which Woody punched opposing LB Charlie Bauman. Woody's record during his 28 years at Ohio State (1951-1978) was 205-61-10 (.761 winning percentage).

Earle Bruce followed in the very large footsteps of Woody Hayes, and managed to post a winning percentage nearly equal to the Buckeye legend (.755, with a record of 81-26-1 from 1979 to 1987). Earle nearly won a national championship during his first season, but his team fell one point short in the 1980 Rose Bowl. The rest of Bruce's team were very good, but none contended for national honors.

John Cooper may have been the Buckeyes' most controversial head coach. He was roundly derided by critics as a Southerner who didn't understand Ohio football (and the rivalry with Michigan), and a recruiting genius who was merely a mediocre football coach. Nevertheless, Coop compiled some of the best talent ever to wear the scarlet and grey, and several of his teams were in the national championship hunt (1993, 1995, 1996, 1998). Unfortunately, even Cooper's best squads fell a little bit short, often by way of a loss to that team up north. Cooper coached OSU from 1988 to 2000, compiling an overall record of 111-43-4 (.715 winning percentage).

In 2001, Jim Tressel inherited an Ohio State program which had fallen rapidly from the peak which it reached in 1998, when the Bucks narrowly missed a national championship. After a generally unimpressive rookie season (which was highlighted by a win over Michigan), Tress won it all in 2002, going undefeated over the course of a 14-game season. The coach's critics complain that "Tressel Ball" is boring, even if it does seem to be a winning formula (and currently it's not a winning formula, but talent may have something to do with that). However, most Buckeye fans see a bright future ahead with Coach Tressel at the helm.

Thanks for your participation.

[WoodyWorshiper]

Why did you want us to make "two" choices? There is only one.

[MililaniBuckeye]

What Dubs said. There is but one clear choice. I won't even mention The Man's name because it should be so [censored]ing obvious. I refused to make two choices...only made one.

[WoodyWorshiper]

Obviously, I only made one pick also Mili. I guess I should mellow out a bit but to hell with it. These "poll" things are okay, but I'm [censored]ed about not being able to see "the game" tomorrow so I'll vent. Tatum is on as a safety. I guess I can just chalk that one up to people thinking that he was a safety because no corner could ever hit that hard. The one that really burns my ass is seeing Katzenmoyer. Putting him on par with Spielman and Cousineau is bad enough. Putting him on a list that doesn't include Marek is just down right ridiculous.

[Sdgobucks]

John Cooper!!


What a joke.

[LordJeffBuck]

Just a short response to various criticisms....

Tatum is listed at "safety" because that's the position he played at Ohio State - more precisely, he was a "rover" back, sort of a hybrid of safety and linebacker. He is listed in the old rosters as a "cornerback" because, at the time he played, what we now call "cornerbacks" were called "defensive halfbacks". Tatum was not a corner at OSU. You may refer to JAck Park if you don't believe me.

There are more than two choices for the coaches poll because, as I have stated in all of the poll threads, we are looking to make a first and second team. If Woody seems to be the obvious choice for first team, then who is the obvious choice for second team? It seems that Brown, Bruce, Cooper, and Tressel all have some merit.

In fact, Woody may not be the obvious first choice for all respondees. Brown was the best football coach EVER, at any level, but his tenure at Ohio State was limited to only three years; IF Brown had spent his entire career at Ohio State, it is fairly safe to say that there would have been no Woody at OSU. Tressel already has five NC's, and is a legend in his own right (albeit primarily not at the D-IA level). If Tressel continues his success at OSU for another twenty years or so, it is quite possible that he will SOMEDAY be a greater legend than Woody. Some people may want to respond to the question based on the coaches' overall careers, or their future potential, and not just their history at Ohio State.

As to Woody himself, he certainly had his detractors while he coached the Bucks, and an objective reading of his career shows that he squandered a ton of talent during his final decade, failing (in Cooper-like fashion) to win NC's in '69, '70, '73, '74, and '75, when the Bucks clearly had the best team in college football.

ANyway, thanks for responding, and thanks for the feedback.

[Sdgobucks]

Originally Posted by LordJeffBuck

Just a short response to various criticisms....

Tatum is listed at "safety" because that's the position he played at Ohio State - more precisely, he was a "rover" back, sort of a hybrid of safety and linebacker. He is listed in the old rosters as a "cornerback" because, at the time he played, what we now call "cornerbacks" were called "defensive halfbacks". Tatum was not a corner at OSU. You may refer to JAck Park if you don't believe me.

There are more than two choices for the coaches poll because, as I have stated in all of the poll threads, we are looking to make a first and second team. If Woody seems to be the obvious choice for first team, then who is the obvious choice for second team? It seems that Brown, Bruce, Cooper, and Tressel all have some merit.

In fact, Woody may not be the obvious first choice for all respondees. Brown was the best football coach EVER, at any level, but his tenure at Ohio State was limited to only three years; IF Brown had spent his entire career at Ohio State, it is fairly safe to say that there would have been no Woody at OSU. Tressel already has five NC's, and is a legend in his own right (albeit primarily at the D-IA level). If Tressel continues his success at OSU for another twenty years or so, it is quite possible that he will SOMEDAY be a greater legend than Woody. Some people may want to respond to the question based on the coaches' overall careers, or their future potential, and not just their history at Ohio State.

As to Woody himself, he certainly had his detractors while he coached the Bucks, and an objective reading of his career shows that he squandered a ton of talent during his final decade, failing (in Cooper-like fashion) to win NC's in '69, '70, '73, '74, and '75, when the Bucks clearly had the best team in college football.

ANyway, thanks for responding, and thanks for the feedback.

I hope you didn't think my Cooper comment was directed at you. I was just making fun of Cooper since it is scUM week, and that is what Cooper is known for. There haven't been that many coaches at tOSU, so Cooper belongs on there just because of a lack of other possible candidates. Thanks for the polls and everything, its a great idea.

[BB73]

JT got my second place vote - right now he can use any support he can get. Paul Brown is one of the greatest coaches in football history, but he wasn't at tOSU long enough to get my vote on this poll.