Mailbox: Ohio State football coaches' bonuses in wake of Michigan loss adds to the pain

Have more comments, questions? Reach out to me at bwhite1@dispatch.com

On Ohio State football

Dear editor: Reading of the OSU football coaches' bonuses made me wonder: If the OSU vs. Michigan game is so important to OSU and its fan base, shouldn’t any bonus given to the coaching staff be reflected in the outcome of “The Game”? Since the coaching staff forgot to show up for this year's "big game," shouldn’t there be an adjustment made with a significant reduction in their bonus? Chet Ridenour, Worthington

To the editor: I have a colleague in Oklahoma City who I had told we were taking a collection for a one-way ticket back to Oklahoma for our defensive coordinator and was told, "Don't bother, we don't want him back!" I have followed the Buckeyes since watching Hopalong Cassidy and was never so embarrassed as I was last week. This is the first time I haven't wanted to play in the (playoff) or any bowl game; just don't want to suffer again. Is it possible the university can cancel that $2 million deal?

Bob Van Horn

To Bob: I'm guessing your colleague is in the minority in Stillwater, as Knowles turned that defense around in impressive fashion. He also upped the rankings of Ohio State's defense in every category. His crew had a bad day vs. Michigan, but I'm sure that won't cancel his big contract.

To the editor: In life you don’t often get a second chance to make a first impression, but thanks to the football gods with the assistance of the Utah Utes' dogged determination, it looks like our football Buckeyes will be college playoff bound. C.J. and Two Thumbs Tommy and the rest of the team can rise from the ashes and become the best damned team in the land. Coach Day can show the world that he has learned from the recent defeat and earn his grossly inflated salary. It is time Ohio State plant the Buckeye banner as the national champion and regain the respect and admiration of Buckeye Nation. Woody Hayes would demand nothing less.

Michael Oser, Columbus

To Brian: Folks in Tuscaloosa need to remember that football isn't a horseshoe throwing competition where close is good enough. They lost twice, and while they keep repeating how close each loss was they neglect to mention the three wins they had that could easily have been losses, as well, and Nick Saban's lobbying can't change that. OSU will be playing its first-ever game in the state of Georgia, and winning that game isn't so far-fetched and neither is possible redemption in a championship game with some necessary adjustments I'm sure they are on top of, heeding Woody's admonition that wanting to win isn't as important as wanting to prepare to win. 

Dennis Singleton, Dayton

To the editor: Jim Tressel led with a stifling defense. The job of the defense is to keep the other team from winning. Sometimes it helps your offense through interceptions and fumble recoveries. Urban Meyer had a speed advantage for several years and an offense that outscored everyone - but the defensive decline began.

What is the Jim Knowles defense? OK, he got burned on a blitz. How could OSU have no one deep - safeties are supposed to stop the long gains. His defense gave up five easy plays that made Michigan look good. The D-Line did not sack the Michigan QB. Michigan does the deep drop, great O-Line play that lets their receivers work deep.  Add McCarthy the runner to it.

Red flags on Day began with first playoff loss to Clemson − strange play calls inside the 10 yard line that led to field goals, not touchdowns.

The run game has totally declined/suffered. When was there an OSU team that could not convert third-and-1 or fourth-and-1 on the ground? He said this would be fixed - wrong. Why aren't they getting few bulldozer, short-yardage backs like Harbaugh always has?

Not having a QB who can run has hurt, Not having a QB who will run to maintain possession really hurts. By the way, if they had picked Burrow over Haskins, OSU likely would have won the national championship because Burrow could run and Haskins didn't.

The OSU offense for several years has been a series of pinpoint passes to super talented receivers who made miraculous receptions. A few dropped balls, and OSU would have had several losses each year. Lastly, where are the Ryan Day offensive plays so clever and intricate that the defenses are totally lost and lose coverages? Too bad Luke Fickell went to Wisconsin. He would have made a great OSU head coach.

Chuck Centivany

On college football

To the editor: Here is my take on the 12-team playoff money grubbing: Whatever happened to the concern about the long-term effects of concussions? The targeting rule change does nothing about the constant head-banging. More games means more injuries overall. I’m ready to go back to a nine-game season. Why would an eight-team playoff not be enough? Players' long-term health is sacrificed for the almighty dollar.

Russ Roeder, Westerville

On the Blue Jackets

To the editor: For the first time in 22 years as a season ticket holder, I left the CBJ game after the first period. After losing to Pittsburgh for the seventh straight time the night before, the 6-0 first period in the Buffalo game was too much to take. They embarrassed themselves, the fans and the city of Columbus on national TV. This is Jarmo Kekalainen's fault! He has taken a young upcoming team and turned it into his NHL Finnish team. He traded away guys who played defense for defensemen who can shoot but can’t play defense and leave our goalies out to dry. He overpaid the Scandinavian players and played hardball with the Canadian and Russian players, who end up leaving or being traded. He hired a coaching staff who are great people but would be better coaching in Cleveland. Their offense to dump, check and pass the puck rather than shoot at the opponent’s goalie has wasted two elite scorers and hindered our young guns' growth. Time to send Jarmo back to Finland or to the golf course!

William Fulcher, Columbus

On women's sports

To the editor: I certainly enjoy reading numerous articles of Ohio State men’s sports accomplishments but would also appreciate more in-depth articles on Ohio State women’s sports. If you click on "Women Sports" in BuckeyExtra, you find almost nothing on successes of women’s team sports. The Ohio State women’s basketball team is fourth in the nation with an outstanding early season and almost no coverage or side stories?

Than Johnson, Urbana

To Than: While you are correct that the navigation in BuckeyeXtra is broken (and soon to be fixed), I disagree that we have not had good coverage of the OSU women's basketball, volleyball and hockey teams. These stories by Bailey Johnson, Colin Gay and Bill Rabinowitz have been displayed prominently in our print editions and online.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Readers unhappy with Ohio State football coach bonuses: Letters