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 The college football nation let out a collective gasp at the breaking news out of from Columbus. Jim Tressel, one of the most successful coaches of all time, stepped down from Ohio State.
Luke Fickell will serve as interim coach in their sure-to-be disappointing 2011 season, when the Buckeyes hope to salvage a season that started with shining national title aspirations. But Fickell will do his best. It is important that we focus on what is happening now—how the resignation of Jim Tressel will affect the public's soured perception of the embattled head coach. First and foremost, one must take a refined glance at the Sweater Vest. Jim Tressel has lied and cheated through Tattoo-gate and his players' possession of ultra-nice cars they didn't pay for, but his heartfelt apology exonerates him significantly. After all, he is not the only coach to completely mess up an excellent gig. Tressel has now joined the exclusive club of elite coaches who lost their jobs over stupid (or what the NCAA considers illegal) actions: Mike Price, Barry Switzer, George O'Leary, Houston Nutt, and the list goes on and on. Overall, Jim Tressel took as much of a high road as one could take in his situation. I was impressed when Tressel raised his suspension to five games, but that was before the car scandal. Now he has done the right thing and resigned. His apology now for all of the violations exemplifies that integrity remains the standard in sports. For all the slime and corrosive forces trying to whittle away at the foundation of college football's moral principles, Jim showed (even if reluctantly) that justice still has a place in the world. Yes, he probably would've been fired if he hadn't resigned, but the point (that I mentioned in my previous article "Why Jim Tressel Should Resign") is that he went out with some dignity. Before we conclude for today, I feel I should give Jim Tressel the credit he deserves as one of the best coaches of all time. With 241 victories, he ranks 25th among college football coaches in wins (from all NCAA divisions). He has a .752 winning percentage, and has tied with Oklahoma's Bob Stoops for most appearance by a head coach in a BCS bowl game (eight). He's won or shared seven Big Ten titles, including the last six. His 2002 Buckeye squad became the first team in the modern college football era (post-World War II) to go 14-0, which was the same year they won the school's first national title in 34 years by ending Miami's (FL) 34-game winning streak. He coached a Heisman-trophy winning quarterback in Troy Smith, and made three appearances in the BCS National Title game. He is the only coach in NCAA history to have won more than 100 games at two universities. Last but not least, he has won five national championship games (four from Youngstown State, and one from the Ohio State University). Yes, Jim Tressel shot himself in the foot, and it cost him the opportunity to be coach for life at Ohio State. I respect him again, though, for doing a great thing. We all make mistakes, and when we all fess up and deal with them, we can each move on with our lives. As the singer Don Henley once noted, "I've been trying to get the matter...I think it's about forgiveness."
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