No. 8 – Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman
What Rittenberg says
Hired: Dec. 9, 2011
Term: 2012-14
What he inherited: “Ohio State had a talented young quarterback, Braxton Miller, but had finished 107th in yards and 81st in scoring during the 2011 season. The Buckeyes eclipsed 27 points just five times that season.”
What happened next: “Urban Meyer came to Columbus with exceptional offensive credentials, but he deserves credit for hiring a coordinator he had never worked with in Herman, from Iowa State. Herman immediately began improving the offense, starting with Miller, who won 2012 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year honors and set the team’s single-season total offense record (3,310 yards). Ohio State’s offense in 2013 set 12 single-season school records, including 4,321 rushing yards, also a Big Ten record. Herman did his best work in 2014, as Ohio State overcame a preseason injury to Miller and a late-season injury to standout freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett to ultimately win the national title game with third-stringer Cardale Jones. The Buckeyes ranked fifth nationally in scoring (44.8 PPG), and Herman won the Broyles Award.”