Tressel "resigns"

According to an ESPN report, the 11 year Head coach of the Buckeyes has been asked to tender his resignation.

Ohio State is feeling the full weight of the massive investigation ongoing with the NCAA, and seemingly each week a new problem arises from these investigations.

According to the report, OSU president E. Gordon Gee constructed a panel to look into all aspects of the investigation, he describes as "a nightmare", and he consulted with senior members of the Ohio State board members, before coming to this conclusion.

"My public statement will include our common understanding that throughout all we do, we are One University with one set of standards and one overarching mission," Gee wrote in the letter, according to the Columbus newspaper. "The University's enduring public purposes and its tradition of excellence continue to guide our actions."

E. Gordon Gee

— April 2, 2010, 2:32 p.m.: Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel receives an email from Columbus attorney Christopher T. Cicero, the first of 12 they exchange. Cicero, a former Ohio State walk-on player in the 1980s, says he has been told current Buckeyes players have been selling signed memorabilia to tattoo parlor owner Edward Rife, who is under federal investigation by the U.S. attorney's office. In three postscripts, Cicero also mentions Rife's criminal history and that Rife was being investigated for drug trafficking. Tressel does not tell athletic director Gene Smith, any of his superiors, the school's compliance department or legal department or the NCAA about the information. But he does forward it to Ted Sarniak, a 67-year-old businessman in Jeannette, Pa., who is quarterback Terrelle Pryor's "mentor," with a note saying, "(Cicero) has always looked out for us."

— April 2, 6:32 p.m.: Tressel replies to Cicero, "Thanks. I will get on it ASAP .... jt"

— April 16, 9:43 a.m.: Cicero emails Tressel again, providing additional details about the OSU players' activities, including some information gleaned from a 90-minute conversation he had with Rife. Cicero says nine Big Ten championship rings, 15 pairs of cleats, four or five jerseys and one national championship ring have been offered for cash or trade by players — "for not that much." Cicero writes, "What I tell you is confidential." Before that, over a two-week period, no secrecy had been requested.

— April 16, 11:20 a.m.: Tressel replies, "I hear you!! It is unbelievable!! Thanks for your help....keep me posted as to what I need to do if anything. I will keep pounding these kids hoping they grow up ....jt"

— April 16, 2:24 p.m.: Cicero replies, suggesting that the players not be allowed to go to Rife's house or his tattoo parlor nor to call him on his cell phone "because if he gets arrested, and that seems to be the plan, we dont want their phone numbers in his cell phone that the government will trace. He really is a drug dealer." He emphasizes the severity of the federal case against Rife.

— June 6, 9:15 p.m.: After they trade several more emails, Tressel thanks Cicero. They exchange no more emails.

— Sept. 13: Tressel signs an annual NCAA certificate of compliance form indicating he knows of no violations and has reported to the school any knowledge of possible violations. The form is required of all college coaches, officials and administrators. Tressel's Ohio State contract also requires that he pass along any information he has pertaining to known or potential NCAA violations.

— Dec. 7: The U.S. attorney's office notifies Ohio State officials that it has discovered some Ohio State memorabilia during a raid on Rife's home and/or the tattoo parlor and asks if the items were stolen. A day later, the athletic department is informed. The list of dozens of items released later estimates the value at $12,000 to $15,000.

— Dec. 9: Tressel says this is the first time he hears about his players' involvement with Rife, when told by school officials. He does not mention his email exchanges with Cicero or Sarniak or any knowledge he has of the matter. Phone records also show Tressel had lengthy conversations with Sarniak in April.

— Dec. 16: OSU interviews the six players found to be involved with Rife (Pryor, tailback Daniel Herron, Posey, offensive lineman Mike Adams, defensive lineman Solomon Thomas and defensive back Jordan Whiting). Smith later thanks the players for their conduct in these interviews, "because they were honest (and) forthright." Tressel does not disclose his knowledge of the memorabilia sales.

— Dec. 19: OSU turns in a self-report to the NCAA and declares the six players ineligible.

— Dec. 21: The NCAA conducts phone interviews with the players and then asks for additional information, which Ohio State provides on Dec. 22.

— Dec. 22: The NCAA notifies Ohio State of five-game suspensions for five players and one game for Whiting. All must also pay to charity the equivalent of the money and services they received. But the NCAA does allow the players to participate in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 4.

— Dec. 23: Smith and Tressel have a news conference to announce the sanctions. Tressel says the players must have known what they were doing was a violation of NCAA rules: "I suppose that would be something rattling around inside the head of each of them individually. We all have a little sensor within us, 'Well, I'm not sure if I should be doing this.'"

— Jan. 13, 2011: While reviewing information to appeal the players' suspensions, Ohio State's office of legal affairs finds Tressel's email exchanges with Cicero.

— Jan. 16: Presented with the emails, Tressel finally acknowledges them. In its self-report to the NCAA, filed later, Ohio State officials say of Tressel, "As you know, shortly thereafter, you were informed of this and invited to participate" in the investigation.

— Feb. 8: NCAA and school officials interview Tressel. Tressel for the first time admits he knows he committed an NCAA violation.

— March 7: Yahoo! Sports publishes a story in which a source says that Tressel had knowledge of his players' potential NCAA violations as early as April and did not disclose it. Smith has his staff rush to finish the self-report.

— March 8: Ohio State reports Tressel's violation to the NCAA and calls a news conference to announce it has suspended Tressel for two games (later increased to five games to coincide with the players' punishment) and has fined him $250,000. In the letter to the NCAA, Ohio State says, "The institution is very surprised and disappointed in Coach Tressel's lack of action in this matter." Yet at the news conference, university President E. Gordon Gee and Smith lavish praise on Tressel. Asked if he considered firing Tressel, Gee jokes, "No, are you kidding? Let me just be very clear: I'm just hopeful the coach doesn't dismiss me."

— March 17: The NCAA denies an appeal on behalf of the five players suspended for five games.

— April 19: Smith says Tressel's $250,000 fine may not cover the cost of the NCAA investigation. Ohio State releases a copy of the NCAA compliance form Tressel signed in September. The NCAA continues to deliberate additional sanctions.

— April 28: Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany says he may not have defended the suspended players if he had known that Tressel knew. "I appealed on behalf of the school. But we didn't have the information we have today," he says. A former NCAA enforcement committee representative, Delany adds that coaches should be held to a higher standard than athletes because "they're adults, teachers."

— May 30: Ohio State announces Tressel has resigned. Assistant Luke Fickell, already tabbed to coach the team during Tressel's suspension, will be interim coach for the 2011 season. The search for a new permanent head coach will begin following the season.

EDIT 1: SI's George Dohrmann says timing of Tressel's resignation "will make sense after you read" his story being posted later today. (per Darren Rovell's Twitter)

If he's made it this far, why resign on the morning of Memorial Day? Unless this was all part of an elaborate plan to avoid a company Memorial Day picnic that Tressel really didn't want to attend, then the best hypothesis re: Tressel resigning now is to pre-empt the impending fallout from George Dorhmann's Sports Illustrated piece on Ohio State, which will be published Monday afternoon.

Complete Coverage of Jim Tressel's Resignation
You don't know what's in that piece, do you? No, and neither do you or anyone else until it's posted on SI.com. Regardless of what is in the piece--murder, organ harvesting, or news of Tressel's amazing and very illegal pirated DVD collection kept on OSU servers--the SI piece would be the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back, not the fat dude who jumped off a roof and snapped the poor beast in half all at once.

Who takes over, then? Luke Fickell, co-defensive coordinator and the designated interim coach for the five games Tressel was going to miss anyway. Fickell has never been a head coach at any level, and is an interim for interim's sake with flawless Ohio State credentials and a key to the locker room. He will not, however, be the next head coach barring circumstances of a truly freakish nature.

Okay, better question: how long is this person going to take over?  Not for too long, though the Buckeyes could play the long-term strategy and wait the entire 2011 season out before making a decision. Starting QB Terrelle Pryor and other impact players were already going to miss the first five games. A coaching search is always a protracted, dicey affair, but doing it in the month of June is even worse given the settled state of the coaching HR pool. Rather than rush the decision, Ohio State might punt on the 2011 season, rebuild, and take their time finding the next man for the Big Ten's flagship football program.

That would be ironic considering Tressel's fondness for punting, yes?

I'm glad I pointed that out to myself. Nice work, me! 

Who's next?

JON GRUDEN BILL BELICHICK JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF. Now that we have typed that, let's talk about people who both want to coach college football and who have actually done it before with success. Ashtabula native Urban Meyer has a portrait of Woody Hayes in his foyer and listed Ohio State in his contract as one of the three schools he could leave Florida for without penalty. He must be considered seriously as the first candidate, even if his health issues and mental state are a concern.

Other candidates of a serious nature:

Bo Pelini. Youngtown native, current Nebraska head coach. Angry, which Ohio State fans like. Coveted by Nebraska fans, which could start a nasty bidding war neither school wants.
Gary Patterson, TCU. Brilliant defensive mind who turned TCU into a national power.  No Ohio connections, and about to move into a snug BCS spot in the Big East at a school that will do almost anything to keep him.
Mark Dantonio, Michigan State. Former Tressel assistant currently coaching at Michigan State. Also a former Tressel assistant, so possibly too close to the coaching tree for a fresh start. 
Chris Petersen, Boise State. He's never leaving Boise, but his name always comes up, so let's just mention that he's brilliant, mentioned for every big job, and will still stay in Boise.
Dan Mullen, Mississippi State. The Costco Urban Meyer, and a spread offense guru who hasn't had a major health crisis or burnout episode yet.
Was this inevitable? Yes. Tressel was probably a dead man walking the minute the emails in Tatgate went public, and only worsened his condition as time wore on in the case. The timing was the question, a question that the SI article's looming publication answered for Ohio State's admins this weekend. The word was there for all to see, and has been for months now. The article itself will be the sousaphone player running out to dot the "i" in "resignation."

Fake Bo Pelini (@FauxPelini)
5/30/11 7:23 AM
Not saying I'd be interested in the OSU job, but what's their stance on using physical/emotional abuse as a motivation tool? Just asking.

We specialize in custom work and cover-ups. "

Purplegeezer wrote:Is it any wonder why the OSU players used the tattoo parlor they did?

We specialize in custom work and cover-ups. "

http://www.finelineinktattoos.com/

pilotram wrote:Nice....
And now Pryor isn't coming back. Terrel, you realize the draft was last month, right? LOL.

PrideofthePilots wrote:or a quarterback coach for him.

DaTruRochin wrote:Lord knows he made enough in college to pay for one...