COLUMBUS – Buckeye head football coach Urban Meyer is making a late-season coaching change permanent for 2016, installing offensive coordinator Ed Warinner in the press box.
For much of the 2015 season, when Ohio State’s highly-touted offense seemed to be more hiccup than giddy-up, pundits and armchair coaches wondered why Warinner, also the offensive line coach, did not leave the sideline during games and take a seat beside co-coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tim Beck where he could get a bird’s-eye view of the action.
Meyer moved Warinner upstairs for the final game of the regular season and the Fiesta Bowl and OSU turned in impressive offensive performances in wins over Michigan and Notre Dame.
“Our offense was as good as it was all year with coach Warinner and coach Beck together in the box. So keeping those two in place during games is something I think our offense will benefit from as we move forward,” Meyer said Friday.
Meyer says the veteran status of the offensive line allowed Warinner to move to the press box but, with only two of five starters returning, Meyer has hired Greg Studrawa as OL coach.
Studrawa has coached the offensive line at Maryland for the past two seasons after spending seven years on Les Miles’ staff at LSU where he was also offensive coordinator for two years.
Warinner will coach the team’s tight ends as Tim Hinton takes the post of executive director for football relations and Meyer’s special assistant.