Ohio State Website Updates Coaching Roster, Clarifies Positions

And it's official, save for two. Ohio State updated their coaching roster on the official website earlier today and clarified the job titles of Luke Fickell, Mike Vrabel, and Everett Withers. It was speculated that Fickell would receive the additional title of "Assistant Head Coach," but that title has gone to Withers. Instead, Fickell will be Ohio State's primary defensive coordinator, the one who calls the plays on Saturday. Withers will assist in gameplanning and other big picture decisions. Mike Vrabel will replace Jim Heacock as defensive line coach.

Withers was apparently a hot commodity this offseason after leading North Carolina as interim head coach in 2011. His rumored salary would be record-breaking for an Ohio State assistant coach, and the additional title was likely a necessary inducement for Ohio State to beat other teams for his services.

New tight ends coach Tim Hinton and offensive line coach Ed Warinner remain off the official roster, but, as Vico at Our Honor Defend pointed out on Twitter, the pair have yet to be officially introduced. The two have officially left Notre Dame, however, so it is just a matter of time before an announcement writes it with ink.

The ultimate success of Meyer's staff will have as much to do with how the members coalesce and work together as anything else. Ohio State's historic run over the last decade can be largely attributed to a group of coaches who worked well together and stayed together for a lengthy period of time, relative to other coaching staffs in the turbulent college football profession.

At Florida, Meyer's success ended when his coaches left and he was forced to hire replacements that he had little familiarity with. It appears to me that Meyer hired certain members of this staff as internal replacements in the event other members leave. Luke Fickell will be a constant candidate for head coaching positions, and offensive coordinator Tom Herman will be another hot candidate if he finds success here. Withers is clearly Fickell's built-in replacement, and Warriner could be viewed as Herman's, since Warriner is an accomplished spread offensive coordinator himself.