There seems to be some debate as to exactly how long it will be before Jim Tressel trades in his Ohio State sweater vest for either a career in politics or a job as an athletic director. When it comes to talk of just who would ultimately replace Tressel -- and we don’t think that’ll be necessary for quite awhile, anyway, but play along -- there’s a name that’s consistently one of the first to be mentioned by a good chunk of the debaters.
Bo Pelini.
While he’s currently entering his third season as Nebraska’s head coach, his football roots are deeply entrenched in the Buckeye state -- he grew up in Youngstown and played for John Cooper at Ohio State. The 42-year-old hasn’t officially been connected to the Buckeyes since his senior season in 1990, but that hasn’t stopped the speculation of many that he’s next in line to succeed Tressel.
In a story appearing in Tuesday’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Pelini said he does not view his job in Lincoln as a steppingstone to a place like Columbus and, as should be expected, dismisses the notion that he has his eyes on a future with the Buckeyes.
“I’m just happy coach Tressel is there. I think he’ll be there for years to come, and I think he should be,” Pelini told the paper. “For me to sit there like I’m going to campaign to be the next head coach at Ohio State, that’s crazy. That’s a slap in the face to coach Tressel, to the guys that are there.
“I’m hoping to build this into something like he has going there. Then you feel there is no reason to ever leave here.”
Speaking in general about possibly being a candidate for a marquee opening if he continues to rebuild the Cornhuskers back into a nation power, Pelini said he has everything he needs in place to be successful right where he’s at, although he stopped short of guaranteeing this would be his final coaching stop.
“I don’t think Nebraska is a steppingstone job,” he said. “It’s a great job. You have all the things necessary to win. We have a great athletic director, we have great support. I love my staff. I’m happy.
“Am I going to say you would never ever look or talk to somebody? That’s crazy to make an ultimatum like that. But we’re not looking.”
Pelini’s right; Nebraska is far from a steppingstone job. While it may have lost some of its luster in the years since Tom Osborne stepped down as head coach, it’s still one of the premier jobs in the nation and one from which there’s no reason to leave if you’re successful.
It will be interesting, though, to watch -- regardless of how fan- or media-driven it is -- this whole Pelini-OSU dynamic play out in light of Nebraska’s move to the Big Ten in 2011.