Fire or not fire? Ohio State, Florida keep coaches to lead college football paradigm change

Never let the moment overcome the plan. Seems simple enough.

Until the moment is Michigan, and the world is caving one late November afternoon when another loss delivers another reason for change.

“You’ve got to be grounded in your process,” Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork said. “You can’t be shaken.”

Even when you’ve spent nine months preparing for and evangelizing about what will be, and the next thing you know, Florida loses by 24 at home in the season opener — and bitter rival Miami is strutting out of The Swamp, mocking that unshakeable plan.

“I believe in what we’re doing and how we’re building it organically,” said Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin. “You can’t be timid in this job.”

Now here we are, Ohio State and Florida on opposite ends of the success spectrum in 2024, but strolling arm-in-arm in a fight that had to happen to regain a semblance of control in the dysfunctional world of hiring and firing coaches.

You either believe in your coach and the plan, or you don’t. If you do, fight with all you’ve got ― against all comers, no matter the criticism.

Ohio State coach Ryan Day reacts to a call during his team’s game against Oregon at Autzen Stadium.

The Buckeyes will play Monday in the College Football Playoff national championship game. The Gators finished a strong close to the season with a wining record (and real momentum) for the first time since 2020.

But Bjork and Stricklin — friends for years as rival athletic directors at Ole Miss and Mississippi State, respectively — are in this stand together. Throwing tens of millions of walkaway cash at a coach who doesn’t work is one untenable thing.

But swaying with the masses, moving who and what you believe to go with the flow instead of fighting upstream, that’s a completely different animal. That’s giving…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/fire-not-fire-ohio-state-110215193.html

Author : USA TODAY Sports

Publish date : 2025-01-17 11:02:00

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