In partnership with
Hello and welcome to anther edition of Cus Words Sports! Today we’re rolling out a new regular feature…
On Jan. 18, 2001, Ohio State officially introduced Jim Tressel as the 22nd head football coach of the Buckeyes.
(That’s 25 years ago today if you don’t have a calendar handy.)
With that in mind, I thought it would be fun to look back at that day and how the decision was received (with the help of the Buckeye Sports Bulletin archives).
Buckeye Sports Bulletin, Jan. 27, 2001
But why stop there? Why not make it a regular feature? How about we do this all year???
That is exactly what I’m planning to do!
That’s right, for the next year we’re going to take regular peaks back at Tressel’s first season on the sidelines.
The ups and downs, the trials and tribulations — and of course The Promise, the delivery and everything that happened in the 309 days in between.
(After our first ad break)
One Simple Scoop For Better Health
The best healthy habits aren't complicated. AG1 Next Gen helps support gut health and fill common nutrient gaps with one daily scoop. It's one easy routine that fits into real life and keeps your health on track all day long. Start your mornings with AG1 and keep momentum on your side.
After 105 wins, seven Big Ten titles, a national championship and nine wins over Michigan, it might seem like Tressel’s success in Columbus was preordained.
(Especially for a guy whose favorite sayings include, “You get what your works deserve.”)
Everyone knew in January 2001 Tressel was the perfect man at the perfect time to take over the program.
John Cooper had steered OSU away from potential disaster, but that mild-mannered man with the accent from Tennessee wasn’t able to get all the way to the winner’s circle himself.
It was time for a native son to finish the job, and that was obviously James Patrick Tressel.
Well, not exactly…
Tressel and wife Ellen on the day he won his 100th game at Ohio State (Effects via Google Gemini)
If you were sentient in 2001 — I was a senior in high school obsessed with all sports but Ohio State football more than anything else — then you probably remember at least vaguely how the search for Cooper’s replacement went.
It was not fast, it was not clean, and it ended sort of with a thud.
I myself was underwhelmed when I heard the announcement (not that I was an expert on I-AA football). I’m sure if I’d had a blog (I think those had been invented by then) or a social media feed (those had not) you could probably find an old post from me questioning the wisdom of this move.
Oregon wasn’t Oregon then, so I wasn’t sure what to make of the flirtations with Mike Bellotti, but I was impressed with Glen Mason.
How could you not be?
This is a guy who played for Woody Hayes and built Minnesota into a winning program.
He also brought the Golden Gophers into Ohio Stadium and slapped around an undisciplined group of Buckeyes that started the season well then slipped as it wound down.
That was not uncommon for Cooper’s teams, but 2000 was a harder crash than most as the Buckeyes went from 5-0 to 8-4 with another loss to Michigan and another bowl defeat to cap it off (that was usually how the last two games went back then).
Director of athletics Andy Geiger decided he had seen enough after a dismal 24-7 beating in the Outback Bowl by South Carolina on Jan. 1, 2001, and ended the Cooper tenure at 13 years.
The coach of the Gamecocks, Lou Holtz, was an Ohio native, and their best offensive weapon that day happened to be Troy High School grad Ryan Brewer, an Ohio Mr. Football who wasn’t offered a scholarship by Ohio State despite a record-setting career for the Trojans.
He piled up 201 yards from scrimmage and scored three touchdowns in Tampa while Ohio State looked as undisciplined and uninterested as usual to be playing somewhere other than Pasadena on the first of the year.
Maybe Brewer’s hometown didn’t make much difference in the end as far as Geiger was concerned, but it was an extra bit of salt in the wound as Ohioans coming back to haunt Cooper’s Ohio State teams were somewhat common.
Fact-based news without bias awaits. Make 1440 your choice today.
Overwhelmed by biased news? Cut through the clutter and get straight facts with your daily 1440 digest. From politics to sports, join millions who start their day informed.
Anyway, back to Mason: He was a former Buckeye player who clearly loved Ohio State, wanted to be there and had some record of success in the Big Ten.
Not only was Tressel making a jump in levels of competition from I-AA, he was viewed as something other than Geiger’s first choice, at least in some corners of the state.
For example:
“Jim Tressel must feel like a provisional prom date,” wrote Tim Sullivan of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “He’s the guy who gets the girl if the girl can’t find anybody better. He’s a fallback position, an insurance policy, a stooge.
“Andy Geiger’s search for John Cooper’s successor has so far succeeded mainly in embarrassing the Buckeye nation. For two weeks, the position once considered among the most desirable in the country has been disused almost daily by coaches with smaller salaries and more slender resources…
“Shouldn’t Ohio State’s search committee scouring the country for the ideal candidate be able to attack someone with a higher profile than Division I-AA Youngstown State?”
But Geiger saw what he needed to see both on the field and during the interview process.
The OSU AD sounded like he liked Tressel’s four national championships at YSU, but he loved the way the man who would come to be known as The Senator for his sweater vest and press conference presence handled his interview on campus Jan. 16.
“I would say that Tuesday was an extraordinary day on this campus. I think we had a very high regard for him. I have to tell you the research we had done in the area of the game — his ability to adapt — I had absolutely no doubt about the football part. And the rest oof it was so outstanding it put him over the top.”
Tressel did his part on Day 1 on the job, first wowing those who attended his introductory press conference then making a fateful trip to Value City Arena the Schottenstein Center for a men’s basketball game later that evening.
From the presser, just read this quote and try not to hear it in Tressel’s voice:
“When you’re at a place like Ohio State that is so visible as an outstanding institution, so visible as an outstanding football program, it gives us even more responsibility because it’s not just to this state or this region, it’s to this country and it’s to this world.”
At halftime of a game against Michigan, Geiger introduced Tressel to a crowd that went crazy when he delivered a line that was not only memorable but proved to be prophetic.
“I’m so proud, so excited and so humble to be your football coach at Ohio State. I can assure you, you will be proud of our young people in the classroom, in the community — and most especially in 310 days in Ann Arbor, Mich., on the football field.”
OK, so he won the press conference.
Now what?
With his new job secured, Tressel’s first task was to lock down the relatively small recruiting class Cooper had assembled before being shown the door.
We’ll take a look at that in a future flashback, so make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss it!
And if you’re already subscribed, why don’t you do me a favor and spread the word?
(And don’t forget: If you can give those ads a click, it really helps me out. I’ll get a little compensation, but you don’t have to do anything else! Thanks for your consideration, and thanks for reading!)