How a college football defense performs in a given season hinges on a number of factors. Talent, depth, “system”, sheer luck, and many other tangibles and intangibles can spell success or failure. One of the factors the Buckeyes are going to be dealing with this season is the meshing of the assistants, specifically defensive…
When Urban Meyer hired Alex Grinch a few months back, it was done with the intention of freeing up Greg Schiano and allowing Grinch to continue working in the secondary, which is where he has always excelled. Schiano will still be around, however, because he loves coaching the secondary as much as anybody.
Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Alex Grinch has seen a lot of different ways to make sausage in his coaching career. He played for legendary head coach Larry Kehres at Mount Union, spent time in two different stints at Missouri with Gary Pinkel — who is the all-time winningest coach at both Toledo and Missouri, was…
Many defensive lines in football have strong sides and weak sides. The strong-side defensive end is usually the bigger, stronger guy because he may have to deal with an offense running to his side of the line due to the extra blocker in the tight end. The weak-side defensive end is usually the faster, more agile pass rusher.
New Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Alex Grinch spent the last three years working with Washington State Mike Leach. Leach is known as one of the most eccentric head coaches in the nation. He can be outspoken about serious things and outspoken about trivial things. Everything you’ve seen from Leach on…
Urban Meyer has established a mentality at Ohio State of four-to-six seconds of relentless effort and getting from Point A to Point B as quickly as possible. It should be no surprise, then, that he went out and hired a defensive coordinator who runs a system called the “Speed D.” Alex Grinch doesn’t remember exactly where…
Taver Johnson last coached for the Buckeyes in the 2012 Gator Bowl. From there he went to Arkansas, and his family obviously went with him. Now that he is back, he is looking for a new place to live. It won’t be the same house they had before, but it also won’t be too far away. “Well, knock on wood, we’re hoping, we…
New Buckeye assistant coach Alex Grinch grew up in Grove City, Ohio, which is about a 20-minute drive from Ohio Stadium. He played football at Mt. Union, winning three Division III national titles in the process. He is Ohio through and through, and that never wavered throughout his coaching travels. Before coming…
Ohio State officially introduced new defensive assistants Alex Grinch and Taver Johnson to reporters this past week. Both coaches were defensive coordinators before coming to OSU, which gives them valuable experience that they will be able to utilize now on Urban Meyer’s staff. Experience in handling…
Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer always keeps a running list of possible assistant coaching hires because he knows that his current assistant coaches aren’t going to stick around forever. When the NCAA announced that a 10th assistant coach was going to be permitted, Meyer had to decide how he was going to…
