Former Ohio State head coach, current OSU assistant and 6 former Bengals on CFB Hall of Fame ballot

Jun. 3—The 2025 College Football Hall of Fame ballot includes a current Ohio State assistant coach, a former Ohio State head coach and six players who went on to play for the Cincinnati Bengals.

A pair of former Ohio State assistants who led national championship teams are also on the ballot (Nick Saban and Larry Coker), but Urban Meyer headlines the group.

Meyer won three national championships, including leading Ohio State to the top of the mountain in 2014, during a 17-year career as a head coach that included stops at Bowling Green, Utah and Florida.

Meyer, whose career winning percentage of 85.4% is the third-highest in FBS history, also led the Gators to two national championships, including a title game rout of Ohio State at the conclusion of the 2006 season.

He went 83-9 at Ohio State, including a 7-0 mark against Michigan, and won three Big Ten championships in seven years. Meyer retired at the conclusion of the 2018 season with a 187-82 overall record at the college level.

Saban was Ohio State’s secondary coach in 1980 and ’81, but he was let go after the Buckeyes allowed 273.2 yards per game through the air the latter season, still a school record for a full season.

However, Saban recovered to win seven national championships, including six at Alabama. He retired in January regarded as perhaps the best coach in the history of the college game.

Coker was an assistant coach at Ohio State in 1993 and ’94, but he is best known for leading Miami (Fla.) to the 2001 national title. He was also the coach of the Hurricanes when Ohio State upset them a year later in the Fiesta Bowl to earn the Buckeyes’ first national championship in more than three decades.

Also on the ballot is James Laurinaitis, who is entering his first season as the full-time linebackers coach at his alma mater. Laurinaitis was a three-time…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/former-ohio-state-head-coach-184000985.html

Author : Dayton Daily News, Ohio

Publish date : 2024-06-03 18:40:00

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