How long was woody hayes at osu

Keeping the train on track is essential to success, but doing it for four quarters is not enough. Consider this column an addendum to that series, focusing on the coaches who best built and bolstered the Buckeyes program. When deciding upon the most successful coach in school history, Wayne Woodrow Hayes gets the majority of support.

Hayes won three poll championships with the Buckeyes , and and achieved a. He also owned a record against Michigan. Anybody who knew Hayes knew what he was thinking: Goddamn. This was the sort of thing you expected when you got into the passing game.

The Buckeyes had done everything right—Schlichter went through his progressions and threw to the right man, the linemen had blocked perfectly—and they still threw an interception. Who will win the College Football Playoff? Making the case for each team. Hayes had diabetes and heart problems; his health was worst at the end of the season, and his blood sugar was most out of whack at night. Bauman got up, looked up at all those Southerners in the crowd and raised his hands in celebration.

Bauman looked over at the Old Man like he might have looked at a poodle nipping at his pants. Bauman was in full pads and a helmet; Hayes was in a windbreaker and a black cap, flailing at him. He just retreated toward his teammates on the field as Hayes kept grabbing at him. Clemson players ran over to the sideline; Ohio State players scuffled with them. From his seat behind the Clemson sideline, Enarson could not see what happened.

It was too foggy, too confusing. But Ohio State athletic director Hugh Hindman had a better view. But up in the press box, Keith Jackson had not seen the punch. All he saw was the melee. Oh, come on now. America would not let him get away with this one—not in , not on national television. One punch had ended it—and not much of a punch, either. Heck, Woody obviously did not mean to hurt the kid.

After all, Hayes punched Bauman with his right hand. The locker room cleared out fairly quickly. When George arrived, the Old Man was sitting in a folding chair in the middle of the locker room, his glasses in his hand, his head down. Hayes did not want to go back to the hotel with the Buckeyes. He had embarrassed them enough for one night. When Hornung arrived, he and Hayes sat and talked for 20 minutes.

Hornung took some notes, but Mark George, off on the other side of the locker room, could tell this was not a case of a reporter interviewing a coach. It was, like so many other conversations between Hornung and Woody Hayes over the years, a friend talking to a friend.

Hayes told Hornung he intended to resign. But he had not resigned. He had two undefeated seasons, but the university's administration demanded that the coach reduce the hard physical work required of the team's players. After four years at this institution, Hayes became the head coach of Miami University's Ohio football team.

Hayes remained the head coach at Ohio State from until During his tenure at this university, Hayes accumulated a record of victories, sixty-eight losses, and ten ties. His teams won three national championships , , and thirteen Big Ten Conference championships. Because of this impressive coaching record, Hayes received National Coach of the Year honors on two separate occasions. More importantly, the team snapped an eight-year losing streak against Michigan, a victory that endeared Hayes to the Buckeye fans.

In , Ohio State finished with the same record even though its starting quarterback, John Borton, suffered a season-ending injury in the third game. Hayes came away from the campaign a strong believer in a powerful running game, and the smash mouth style of football -- what he called "three yards and a cloud of dust" -- became his trademark. Hayes also began to view the pass as something not to be trusted.

The next season, Hayes and the Buckeyes ran all the way to a national championship. The team beat Southern Cal, , in the Rose Bowl to finish at Part of the reason for Hayes' success was his accelerating integration into his team, a practice he continued throughout his career. From , the Buckeyes racked up another national championship , a Big Ten record 17 consecutive victories , and a Heisman Trophy winner Hopalong Cassady, in On the down side, in the Big 10 placed Ohio State on one-year probation for paying some players for work they didn't do.

In , Hayes suffered through his worst season at Ohio State at He would have only one other losing season Many consider his team Hayes' greatest. That squad routed Michigan, , and came from behind to beat Southern Cal, , in the Rose Bowl, earning Hayes his third -- and final -- national championship.

The title came amid a game winning streak. In June , Hayes suffered a heart attack but recovered in time to be on the sidelines for the season opener.