The defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes made a few staff changes official Wednesday. Ed Warinner was officially named the new offensive coordinator on the staff and Tim Beck has been added to the staff as a co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Warinner will have top command of the Buckeyes offense, which will return running back Ezekiel Elliott and as many as three solid quarterback options to play with between J.T. Barrett, Cardale Jones and Braxton Miller.
“Ed Warinner is certainly deserving, experienced and well-qualified for the offensive coordinator position,” Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said in a statement released by Ohio State. “I’m pleased to be able to promote from within our program and I believe he is going to be an excellent coordinator for us.”
Warinner is the sixth different offensive coordinator to work for Meyer, with all five moving on to become head coaches elsewhere. The most recent to follow that path is Tom Herman, who is now the head coach at Houston. Promoting Warinner helps keep some consistency in Meyer’s system, and will not hurt the recruiting tactics for the Buckeyes.
News about Beck’s addition surfaced prior to the College Football Playoff national championship game and was expected to be made official soon after the game. Beck is a former coordinator at Nebraska that was left looking for a new job following Nebraska’s decision to move on from Bo Pelini as head coach. It is Meyer’s hope that Nebraska’s loss will turn out to be Ohio State’s gain.
“I have known Tim for several years and have also watched and competed against him,” Meyer said. “I have always respected his knowledge of the game and he is respected in the profession. I always look for coordinators and co-coordinators who will mesh with our staff, our style and can make us better. I believe Tim will do just that.”