As the coaching rumor winds continue to swirl, one of the latest names to turn up is Ohio State defensive coordinator Chris Ash. I spoke to a few people with close ties to the Ohio State program about Ash. My sources have said that as of last night Ash was not officially offered the Syracuse job. Also, interest from the Rutgers end is very new.
But the people who knew Ash said they felt he was above the Syracuse job and Rutgers would be a much better place for him.
Ash was described as a coach who is 100% real and not a guy who plays mind games. One source said he will never rave too much about his players. However, I was told he cares a great deal about his players.
The source said “The joy for him is watching his guys maximize their potential. To him, the way you represent yourself on the team is everything.”
Nevertheless, it seems that Ash is not going to be a guy who glows when talking about his players. I also went on to learn he would bring a lot of discipline to the program. Any behavior remotely detrimental to the team would not be tolerated under Ash.
Another source cited that the addition of Ash and defensive line coach Larry Johnson was a major reason that Ohio State won a national title last year. The loss of Ash would also hurt, according to that source.
“Ohio State would take two or three season to recover from all the losses this year,” the source said.
Ash has developed a reputation as a more prominent coach than recruiter, so he would likely have to fill his staff with some more accomplished recruiters. It doesn’t look like he would bring any on the main coaches on the Ohio staff defensive staff if he moved on. Ash has not recruited New Jersey, which would be a reason to bring in some assistants with NJ ties.
His defensive style is an aggressive 4-3, with big physical cornerbacks. Here is an interesting video on him coaching. One source compared his defensive style to Pat Narduzzi.
Urban Meyer asks for two years out of his assistants when he hires them and Ash has met that quota. He did interview last year for the head coaching job at Colorado State. As far as offensive schemes, Ash has never been a head coach so there is not much to go on there.
But the people who knew Ash said they felt he was above the Syracuse job and Rutgers would be a much better place for him.
Ash was described as a coach who is 100% real and not a guy who plays mind games. One source said he will never rave too much about his players. However, I was told he cares a great deal about his players.
The source said “The joy for him is watching his guys maximize their potential. To him, the way you represent yourself on the team is everything.”
Nevertheless, it seems that Ash is not going to be a guy who glows when talking about his players. I also went on to learn he would bring a lot of discipline to the program. Any behavior remotely detrimental to the team would not be tolerated under Ash.
Another source cited that the addition of Ash and defensive line coach Larry Johnson was a major reason that Ohio State won a national title last year. The loss of Ash would also hurt, according to that source.
“Ohio State would take two or three season to recover from all the losses this year,” the source said.
Ash has developed a reputation as a more prominent coach than recruiter, so he would likely have to fill his staff with some more accomplished recruiters. It doesn’t look like he would bring any on the main coaches on the Ohio staff defensive staff if he moved on. Ash has not recruited New Jersey, which would be a reason to bring in some assistants with NJ ties.
His defensive style is an aggressive 4-3, with big physical cornerbacks. Here is an interesting video on him coaching. One source compared his defensive style to Pat Narduzzi.
Urban Meyer asks for two years out of his assistants when he hires them and Ash has met that quota. He did interview last year for the head coaching job at Colorado State. As far as offensive schemes, Ash has never been a head coach so there is not much to go on there.
