# List of Ohio State Buckeyes head football coaches

The Ohio State Buckeyes college football team represents the Ohio State University in the East Division of the Big Ten Conference. The Buckeyes compete as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The program has had 25 coaches since it began play during the 1890 season. The Buckeyes have played over 1,200 games over 125 seasons. In those seasons, nine head coaches have led the Buckeyes to postseason bowl games: John Wilce, Wes Fesler, Woody Hayes, Earle Bruce, John Cooper, Jim Tressel, Luke Fickell, Urban Meyer, and Ryan Day. 13 coaches have won conference championships with the Buckeyes: Albert Herrnstein, John Richards, Wilce, Francis Schmidt, Paul Brown, Carroll Widdoes, Fesler, Hayes, Bruce, Cooper, Tressel, Meyer, and Day. Five coaches led the Buckeyes to national championships: Brown, Hayes, Tressel, Meyer, and Day. Hayes is the all-time leader in games coached and years coached with the Buckeyes, while also leading all coaches in victories (205). Meyer currently holds the highest winning percentage of all Buckeye coaches (.902), with a record of 83–9 through seven seasons. David Edwards holds the lowest winning percentage of any Buckeye head coach (.167), going 1–7–1 in the only season that he coached. Of the 24 Buckeye head coaches, Howard Jones, Wilce, Schmidt, Fesler, Hayes, Bruce, Cooper, and Tressel have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. The previous head coach of the Buckeyes was Urban Meyer who was hired in November 2011 and then announced December 4, 2018, he would retire following the Rose Bowl. Ryan Day then became the new coach of the Buckeyes.

## Key

General :
| # | Number of coaches |
| DCs | Divisional championships |
| CCs | Conference championships |
| NCs | National championships |
| † | Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame |
Overall :
| GC | Games coached |
| OW | Wins |
| OL | Losses |
| OT | Ties |
| O% | Winning percentage |
Conference :
| CW | Wins |
| CL | Losses |
| CT | Ties |
| C% | Winning percentage |
Postseason :
| PW | Wins |
| PL | Losses |
| PT | Ties |

## Coaches

| # | Name | Term | GC | OW | OL | OT | O% | CW | CL | CT | C% | PW | PL | CCs | DCs | NCs | National awards |
| 1 | Alexander Lilley | 1890–1891 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2 | Frederick Ryder | 1892–1895, 1898 | 46 | 22 | 22 | 1 | .500 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | Charles Hickey | 1896 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 1 | .500 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4 | David Edwards | 1897 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 1 | .167 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | John Eckstorm | 1899–1901 | 29 | 22 | 4 | 3 | .810 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 6 | Perry Hale | 1902–1903 | 21 | 14 | 5 | 2 | .714 | 5 | 2 | 0 | .714 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 7 | Edwin Sweetland | 1904–1905 | 23 | 14 | 7 | 2 | .652 | 4 | 1 | 1 | .750 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 8 | Albert Herrnstein | 1906–1909 | 39 | 28 | 10 | 1 | .731 | 17 | 6 | 1 | .729 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — |
| 9 | Howard Jones† | 1910 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | .750 | 5 | 1 | 2 | .750 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 10 | Harry Vaughan | 1911 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | .600 | 4 | 1 | 2 | .714 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 11 | John Richards | 1912 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | .667 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — |
| 12 | John Wilce† | 1913–1928 | 120 | 78 | 33 | 9 | .688 | 37 | 30 | 4 | .549 | 0 | 1 | 3 | — | — | — |
| 13 | Sam Willaman | 1929–1933 | 41 | 26 | 10 | 5 | .695 | 14 | 8 | 4 | .615 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 14 | Francis Schmidt† | 1934–1940 | 56 | 39 | 16 | 1 | .705 | 30 | 9 | 1 | .763 | — | — | 2 | — | — | — |
| 15 | Paul Brown | 1941–1943 | 27 | 18 | 8 | 1 | .685 | 9 | 6 | 1 | .594 | — | — | 1 | — | 1 – 1942 | — |
| 16 | Carroll Widdoes | 1944–1945 | 18 | 16 | 2 | 0 | .889 | 11 | 2 | 0 | .846 | — | — | 1 | — | — | AFCA Coach of the Year (1944) |
| 17 | Paul Bixler | 1946 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | .556 | 2 | 3 | 1 | .417 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 18 | Wes Fesler† | 1947–1950 | 37 | 21 | 13 | 3 | .608 | 13 | 10 | 2 | .560 | 1 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — |
| 19 | Woody Hayes† | 1951–1978 | 276 | 205 | 61 | 10 | .761 | 152 | 37 | 7 | .793 | 5 | 6 | 13 | — | 5 – 1954, 1957, 1961, 1968, 1970 | AFCA Coach of the Year (1957) Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year (1957, 1968, 1975) Walter Camp Coach of the Year (1968) |
| 20 | Earle Bruce† | 1979–1987 | 108 | 81 | 26 | 1 | .755 | 57 | 17 | 0 | .770 | 5 | 3 | 4 | — | — | AFCA Coach of the Year (1979) Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year (1979) Woody Hayes Trophy (1979) |
| 21 | John Cooper† | 1988–2000 | 158 | 111 | 43 | 4 | .715 | 70 | 30 | 4 | .692 | 3 | 8 | 3 | — | — | — |
| 22 | Jim Tressel† | 2001–2010 | 128 | 94 | 22 | — | .810 | 59 | 14 | — | .808 | 5 | 4 | 6 | — | 1 – 2002 | AFCA Coach of the Year (2002) Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year (2002) Paul "Bear" Bryant Award (2002) Woody Hayes Trophy (2002) |
| Int | Luke Fickell | 2011 | 13 | 6 | 7 | — | .462 | 3 | 5 | — | .375 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | — |
| 23 | Urban Meyer† | 2012–2018 | 92 | 83 | 9 | — | .902 | 54 | 4 | — | .931 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 1 – 2014 | Woody Hayes Trophy (2012) |
| 24 | Ryan Day | 2019–present | 80 | 70 | 10 | — | .872 | 46 | 5 | — | .902 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 — 2024 | — |

## See Also

List of Sports Coaches From Youngstown, Ohio