OHIO STATE. Who will be the new 2013/14 Head Coach?

[osualum86]

Re: OHIO STATE. Who will be the new 2013/14 Head Coach?

per their tweets: who ever runs the knucklebucks account should be the next head coach. their envy of Miami (cooler younger brother) has what it takes to move the program to the next level

I would think any OSU fan would be envious of Miami at this point in time. Your university made a legitimate commitment to hockey, you have a coach who has turned your program into a perennial Frozen Four contender, what's not to be envious of?

[osualum86]

Re: OHIO STATE. Who will be the new 2013/14 Head Coach?

Perhaps they may have thought there was some possibility for potential rules violations and didn't want to chance Ohio State being the poster child for NCAA infraction committee again hence the sudden firing?
Just speculation of course but Ohio State does have a track record for firing a coach without warning because they broke NCAA rules or the university simply thought that they had and didn't wait to find out and OSU's compliance department is indeed scared sh*tless of the NCAA these days hence the knee jerk reaction!

The facts may never end up coming out regarding why Osiecki was fired, but I would be shocked if it had anything to do with violating NCAA rules. I have a hard time believing he was cheating with a sub .500 record in three seasons of hockey here at OSU. That would be more believable to me if we had gone from a sub .500 team to winning 25-30 games immediately. LOL, if Oz was cheating, he was doing a lousy job at it!

[THE OHIO STATE]

Re: OHIO STATE. Who will be the new 2013/14 Head Coach?

My guess he was FIRED due to his attitude. Like it's my way OR the hiway , and the way he treated people around the program. I'm sure he tried to tell the AD's how it was going to be and they told him to hit the " HIWAY. "

[Ma#1ne Hky]

Re: OHIO STATE. Who will be the new 2013/14 Head Coach?

1. Gwozdecky 2. Whitehead

[5mn_Major]

Re: OHIO STATE. Who will be the new 2013/14 Head Coach?

I think it's safe to say with the B1G attendance will increase. Columbus is packed with Buckeyes and an OSU fan who isn't typically a hockey fan may come see some games as they will recognize teams such as Wisconsin and Minnesota when with the CCHA they wouldn't have a clue who Ferris or Lake Superior is or care. We do sell around 10,000 when Michigan comes to town mind you.

Can't speak to Smith's treatment of the program...but it should definitely be treated as a solid #3.

Joining the B1G will help. I agree that when OSU considers itself on par with FL for football and Duke for hoops playing Ferris State in hockey isn't going to do it for many potential fans. But don't underestimate the impact of BTN. It will not only give extra exposure in OH but also in the B1G footprint, nationwide and even into Canada. B1G hockey IMO is arguably the biggest untapped resource BTN has...and OSU has nothing to do but get onboard.

[osualum86]

Re: OHIO STATE. Who will be the new 2013/14 Head Coach?

My guess he was FIRED due to his attitude. Like it's my way OR the hiway , and the way he treated people around the program. I'm sure he tried to tell the AD's how it was going to be and they told him to hit the " HIWAY. "

This is definitely more believable than NCAA violations. LOL, with the sub-.500 teams Oz was putting on the ice, I doubt if he was "cheating."

[osualum86]

Re: OHIO STATE. Who will be the new 2013/14 Head Coach?

Can't speak to Smith's treatment of the program...but it should definitely be treated as a solid #3.

Joining the B1G will help. I agree that when OSU considers itself on par with FL for football and Duke for hoops playing Ferris State in hockey isn't going to do it for many potential fans. But don't underestimate the impact of BTN. It will not only give extra exposure in OH but also in the B1G footprint, nationwide and even into Canada. B1G hockey IMO is arguably the biggest untapped resource BTN has...and OSU has nothing to do but get onboard.

Couldn't agree with this more! The problem here is the athletic department has NEVER treated hockey as the solid #3 sport on campus. Hockey has been treated as an afterthought by the athletic department at tOSU for way too long. I do agree that being in the BTHC, along with games being on the Big Ten Network, hopefully will raise the level of the program. The athletic department needs to get moving on bringing in a proven coach. This is the wrong time to promote an assistant who has never been a head coach and have him "learn on the job."

[pgb-ohio]

Re: OHIO STATE. Who will be the new 2013/14 Head Coach?

Agree with 5mn_Major; consistent coverage on BTN will be an asset to the OSU program. That consistency is very important for attracting the casual fan. No doubt his Gophers have benefited greatly from having virtually comprehensive television coverage over the years.

The situation here at OSU has been that only a handful of games per season have been broadcast. Often those broadcasts took a satellite dish and a fair amount of devotion to find. For example, hard core fans would track down a game on FSN Detroit with a dish, either at home or a sports bar. But the casual fan would be completely unaware of such a broadcast.

Here's to hoping that the head coach applicants will view the coming BTN coverage as a large plus when evaluating what OSU has to offer.

[osualum86]

Re: OHIO STATE. Who will be the new 2013/14 Head Coach?

1. Gwozdecky 2. Whitehead

Gwozdecky would be my #1 choice for the job as well. He is a proven championship coach, which is exactly what we need going into the Big Ten Hockey Conference.

[davyd83]

I think it's safe to say with the B1G attendance will increase. Columbus is packed with Buckeyes and an OSU fan who isn't typically a hockey fan may come see some games as they will recognize teams such as Wisconsin and Minnesota when with the CCHA they wouldn't have a clue who Ferris or Lake Superior is or care. We do sell around 10,000 when Michigan comes to town mind you.

Lake Superior is a school that has won three more national titles than the mighty scarlet and gray and Ferris was a finalist a year ago. But if it doesn't come with a big yellow M and a smelly weasel for a mascot, why bother?

[davyd83]

Re: OHIO STATE. Who will be the new 2013/14 Head Coach?

My guess he was FIRED due to his attitude. Like it's my way OR the hiway , and the way he treated people around the program. I'm sure he tried to tell the AD's how it was going to be and they told him to hit the " HIWAY. "

Just curious, how many times dd you actually talk with the coach?

[osualum86]

Re: OHIO STATE. Who will be the new 2013/14 Head Coach?

Lake Superior is a school that has won three more national titles than the mighty scarlet and gray and Ferris was a finalist a year ago. But if it doesn't come with a big yellow M and a smelly weasel for a mascot, why bother?

This is exactly what I was trying to say in my other post. It shouldn't take the big yellow M to get people in the seats. They should have been supporting the program all along. Our attendance wasn't even that great in the 2003-04 season when we won the Mason Cup, nor was it that great the next year with the NHL locked out for the entire season and our team playing for another Mason Cup (lost to Michigan but still went to the NCAA Tournament). For those who are suddenly going to come out just because "we're playing Big Ten teams," who are they there to see? Are they there to support our team or the other team? If people are going to the games to support our team, it should never matter who the opponent is. I indicated earlier that I am not a season ticket holder, but when I do go to the games, I don't care if it's Lake Superior, Ferris State, Alaska, or Northern Michigan, I go to cheer on the Buckeyes and watch them win. In regard to your first statement about Lake Superior and the National Titles in 1988, 1992, and 1994, it seems to me that Northern Michigan also has one more National Title in hockey than Ohio State. But hey, like you said, if it's not the weasels, our fans don't bother showing up. Can't wait to see the attendance spike next season because "we're playing Big Ten teams."

[Hockeybuckeye]

Re: OHIO STATE. Who will be the new 2013/14 Head Coach?

Lake Superior is a school that has won three more national titles than the mighty scarlet and gray and Ferris was a finalist a year ago. But if it doesn't come with a big yellow M and a smelly weasel for a mascot, why bother?

You know that and I know that but I was saying the AVERAGE Ohio State fan who isn't hockey savvy would go by name RECOGNITION more than anything else when it came to interest in seeing a game here and there. They would only know of the schools in the B1G the football & basketball teams play.

[Hockeybuckeye]

Re: OHIO STATE. Who will be the new 2013/14 Head Coach?

My guess he was FIRED due to his attitude. Like it's my way OR the hiway , and the way he treated people around the program. I'm sure he tried to tell the AD's how it was going to be and they told him to hit the " HIWAY. "

Perhaps, but don't you think if OSU had concerns about his management style there would have been discussions about it with him? To suddenly let someone go without having talks with him about the concerns seems odd to say the least. I mean in the real world where we work to have discussions with an employee about attitude or whatever the issue is instead of firing outright would usually be the norm.

[Sportsfan1]

Re: OHIO STATE. Who will be the new 2013/14 Head Coach?

Perhaps, but don't you think if OSU had concerns about his management style there would have been discussions about it with him? To suddenly let someone go without having talks with him about the concerns seems odd to say the least. I mean in the real world where we work to have discussions with an employee about attitude or whatever the issue is instead of firing outright would usually be the norm.

How do you know that Osiecki hasn't been warned, if this is, indeed the case for his firing? And as for the AD and his actions...perhaps he was being proactive.
Do we all remember Rutgers earlier this month????