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Ohio State Football: Top 5 candidates to replace Urban Meyer if Buckeyes move on

By Quinn Douglas

ANN ARBOR, MI - NOVEMBER 25: Urban Meyer head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes after the game against the Michigan Wolverines, Ohio State won 31 to 20 on November 25, 2017 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
ANN ARBOR, MI - NOVEMBER 25: Urban Meyer head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes after the game against the Michigan Wolverines, Ohio State won 31 to 20 on November 25, 2017 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /

2. Bob Stoops (Former Head Coach, Oklahoma)

The ties between Stoops and the Ohio State program are much deeper than many people realize. Stoops, an Ohio-native, and while he self-admits he wasn’t a huge Ohio State fan in his youth, he respected and idolized many of the men who lead the Buckeye program back in its heyday, such as Woody Hayes and Earl Bruce.

Stoops, 57, retired following the 2016 season in order to spend more time with his family, something his father never got to do as he died of a heart attack in 1988.

Stoops was an All-Big Ten safety for Hayden Fry and the Iowa Hawkeyes from 1979 to 1982. Stoops then spent five years as an assistant for Fry before a brief stint at Kent State and his arrival as an assistant for fellow Fry disciple, Bill Snyder at Kansas State. Stoops spent six very successful seasons helping rebuild the Wildcats before leaving for Florida for three years and then becoming one of the most successful coaches in the history of Oklahoma Football from 1999 to 2016.

A job like Ohio State would be the perfect way for Big Game Bob to get back into the college football world. While expectations are high at Ohio State, Stoops rarely under-performs in the regular season, and if he can figure out how to fix some of his postseason failures, he could be a home run hire for Gene Smith and the Buckeyes.

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