As published, The Ohio State Lantern, on Thursday 1 Dec 2000, Page 9, Sports Column.

One final, parting shot

Spielman would solve the problems of OSU's program

I've gotten quite a bit of feedback from the last couple columns I've written and felt like I should take this opportunity to respond to it before I leave OSU forever in about a week.

The responses fall into two categories, for the most part. The first is the "you're absolutely right" category. These generally follow the basic pattern of "I can't believe you're the only one in town who actually says that stuff about Cooper. Who do you think is in those compromising photos, and how nasty do they have to be?"

Yes, for some reason other media outlets in town (other than The Other Paper) do seem to be afraid to criticize Cooper. Or maybe the guys from "Ohio's Greatest Homer Newspaper" really enjoy just watching the Rose Bowl on television.

As for the photos, they must be pretty bad. No coach in OSU history since John Wilce (1913-28) has managed to survive to coach after losing three consecutive games to Michigan. Cooper has done it twice, including a four game losing streak from 1988-91 and a three-game streak between 1995-97.

The other letters I get are generally something along the lines of "Who else are we going to get? You couldn't do any better than Cooper, so shut up."

I'm quite confused about those who disagree with my position that we should expect a minimal amount of competence for the $1 million we pay our football coach.

Yes, Cooper has won a number of football games during his time in Columbus. The program is not substantially worse off than when he took over in 1988.

But the program is also not better than it was when Earle Bruce walked off into the sunset either. Yes, the recruiting rankings are better, but the results (what really matters) are not. Cooper has consistently failed to convert on prime opportunities to beat Michigan and win the conference.

ZERO outright conference championships in 13 years simply does not cut it around here.
Asking a football coach to beat Michigan once every two years and go to the Rose Bowl once every three or four seasons is really not asking too much, given OSU's facilities and traditions.

Woody's legacy will be the "10-year war" with Bo. Earle's legacy will be the "Earle" headbands in Ann Arbor in 1987. Cooper's legacy will be falling flat on his butt every time the leaves fell off the trees (see chart below).

He has accomplished the undoable. John Cooper has somehow managed to lower expectations in Columbus. Bruce was ridden out of town on a rail after a series of 9-3 seasons and one 6-4-1 season.

Cooper's last two teams have gone 14-9 and OSU administrators seem content to spend the holidays in some second-rate, backwater, half-assed New Year's MORNING bowl.

The very fact that some people are championing this season as a success is an absolute joke.
For a team that prides itself on being a premier program, an 8-3 season IS a failure. No amount of cheerful "New Year's Day by the Bay" nonsense is going to change the fact that the Outback Bowl is a sad shadow of the games OSU should be playing in.

So what, you ask, should OSU do with its coaching position?

It's pretty simple. There is one guy who really, really wants the OSU head coaching job. He has the fiery, competitive personality that the Buckeyes have been missing for the last 13 years. And while short on experience, he does have a big advantage over the current administration. He really understands what makes OSU great, and truly understands the OSU-Michigan rivalry.

Chris Spielman should be the next head coach of Ohio State.

Before I get 10 million irate e-mails with the name "Gerry Faust" in the subject line, I will add this caveat: Spielman will need a very experienced assistant coach to help him through his first year or two. Hiring Spielman along with an "adviser" would help ease him into the job better than a year or two at Tulsa or Bowling Green would.

Might the 2001 season be a rough one in Columbus with a new coach? Possibly. But because another trip to Ann Arbor with Cindy's daddy on the sidelines means another inevitable loss and another non-championship season, what do we have to lose?

Given a year to really get into the business, Spielman would certainly be a spectacular recruiter and an almost universally-beloved icon of everything that's right with Ohio State football.

Or we can suffer through another season of three-loss mediocrity and another humiliating loss in Ann Arbor before making the decision that we can make now. Why waste another autumn?

The Fall From Grace
Cooper's winning percentage by month
Month W-L-T Winning Perentage August/September 39-5 .886 October 40-16-2 .854 November 28-15-3 .641 December/January 3-7 .300
Compiled by Tom Orr/ THE LANTERN

Thomas Orr is a graduating senior in journalism and the Lantern sports editor. He's hoping to take matters into his own hands and raise enough money to fly Charlie Baumann down to the Outback Bowl.

Copyright 2000 The Ohio State Lantern