The Most Successful Coaches of All Time in Ohio State Football: The Top 10

Ohio State ranks among the top programs in college football history with a level of consistency unmatched by any other school. The Buckeyes have not had a consecutive losing season since 1922-24.

One of the biggest reasons for OSU’s continued success has been its long list of extremely successful coaches. Every coach from Woody Hayes to Jim Tressel has been elected to the College Football Hall of Fame.

Urban Meyer’s three national championships, two in Florida and one in Ohio State, make him a fast lock if eligible. Current manager Ryan Day’s 33-4 record puts him on track to join the club, although that’s likely a long way off for the 43-year-old.

Here is a list of the most successful coaches in Buckeye history:

Table of Contents

1. Woody Hayes (1951-78, 205 wins)

To this day, Woody Hayes is the standard by which all Ohio State coaches are measured. His wins are nearly double those of other OSU coaches. Hayes’ teams won 13 Big Ten titles and were national champions in 1954 and 1968 during that polling era. Hayes, whose hiring was not universally welcomed by Miami University, was a character and was often caricatured. His detractors bemoaned his conservative coaching philosophy and outbursts of anger. But his players adored him because they knew he cared deeply about preparing them for life and success after football. If the state of Ohio had Mount Rushmore, he’s the first to stand on it.

2. John Cooper (1988–2000, 111 wins)

Yes, we know his dismal record against Michigan (2-10-1) and in bowl games (3-8). But John Cooper had many victories in Columbus. Ohio State hired Cooper from Arizona State, and after a underperforming first season, the Buckeyes were consistently at or near the top of the polls. He built on what Earle Bruce had done to modernize Ohio State’s criminal offense. Cooper recruited and coached Buckeye all-timers Eddie George, Orlando Pace and Terry Glenn, among others.

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3. Jim Tressel (2001-10, 94 wins)

After the failures against Michigan under his predecessor, Tressel’s embrace of that rivalry made him a fan favorite from the start. His dominance with the Wolverines cemented his status as one of the greatest coaches in Buckeye history. Some scoffed at “Tressel-Ball” for its emphasis on field position and kick play, but the results spoke for themselves. He led Ohio State to three national championship games, winning the first in a major uproar over Miami in one of college football’s all-time classics. It looked like Tressel would train at Ohio State for as long as he wanted. Then came the tattoo and memorabilia scandal that cost him his job.

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4. Urban Meyer (2012-18, 82 wins)

Meyer was Ohio State’s first coach to arrive as big as the program. The Ashtabula native coached Utah to an unbeaten season, winning two national titles in Florida, including one in a stunning win over Ohio State. After a year off coaching, a refreshed Meyer led the Buckeyes to victories in his first 24 games. In 2014, he led Ohio State to an unlikely national championship in the first college football playoff, despite losing two quarterbacks to season-ending injuries. Meyer brought OSU back to the CFP in 2016 before retiring after the 2018 season that ended in a Rose Bowl win.

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5. Earle Bruce (1979-87, 81 wins)

Following a legend is a thankless task, but Earle Bruce was the man for the moment. Bruce was a protégé of Hayes and similar in philosophy. He was just as passionate, though not susceptible to his mentor’s outbursts. Bruce’s first team was his best. Not much was expected of the 1979 team, but they went undefeated in the regular season before being caught by USC in the Rose Bowl to deny the Buckeyes a national championship. Six straight 9–3 seasons followed, considered successful in most places except Ohio State. After he was fired the week before the 1987 Michigan game, Bruce’s team rallied behind him and caused an amazing upset. The lasting image of Bruce as an OSU coach is of him wearing a fedora as players carried him off the field.

6. John Wilce (1913-28, 78 victories)

Next to Hayes, Wilce is the longest-serving coach and popularized the Buckeye program. He coached Ohio State to their first three conference titles and their first win over Michigan in 16 tries. This was achieved in 1919 thanks to the exploits of the school’s first real star, Chic Harley. The following season, Ohio State went to the Rose Bowl for the first time. Wilce, who received his medical degree in 1919, resigned as a coach nine years later to concentrate on his medical practice.

7. Francis Schmidt (1934-40, 39 victories)

Schmidt ushered Ohio State into the modern age of college football. His teams showed an innovative offensive with a lot of attention. Schmidt won two Big Ten titles. He is perhaps best known for his quirky personality and his valorization of the Michigan rivalry. Ohio State’s tradition of giving the team gold pant trinkets after victories over the Wolverines began after he said Michigan’s players pulled their pants down one leg just like Ohio State’s.

8. Ryan Day (since 2019, 33 wins)

Day had never been a head coach before coming to Columbus as quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator. But he so impressed Urban Meyer and others that when Meyer was suspended for three games in 2018, athletic director Gene Smith bypassed former head coaches Greg Schiano and Kevin Wilson to name Day acting coach. The Buckeyes won those three games, and Smith hired Day to succeed Meyer later this season. Day’s teams have lost just four games. His 2019 team was among the most dominant in school history until his CFP semifinal loss to Clemson. The 2020 Buckeyes weathered COVID-19 to reach the national title game. With recruitment and development remaining at high levels, it seems a matter of time before Ohio State wins it all under Day.

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9. Albert Herrnstein (1906-09, 28 wins)

Herrnstein was the most successful of Ohio State’s early coaches, neither of whom lasted too long. Herrnstein was a star player in Michigan under Fielding Yost. Ohio State hired him in 1906, and he led the Buckeyes to an 8-1 record, their all-time best season at the time. The only loss came to Michigan, and his Buckeyes were 0-4 against his alma mater. For the rest of his life Herrnstein ran a hardware store in Chillicothe.

10. Sam Willaman (1929-33, 26 wins)

Willaman was a star fullback at Ohio State in 1911 and 13. Willaman was hired as assistant coach and eventual successor by John Wilce in 1926 and took over in 1929. His last team was his best. OSU went 7-1 in 1933, surpassing opponents 161-26 and shutting out five of them. The Buckeyes’ only loss was a 13-0 loss at undefeated Michigan. But that loss was his third in five games against the Wolverines, and Willaman resigned under pressure after the season to become a coach at Western Reserve University in Cleveland. His career and life were cut short when he died in 1935 at the age of 45 after an operation on his intestines.

Bill Rabinowitz covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Contact him at [email protected] or on Twitter @brversand.

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