2 of a Kind – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 24, 2005
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Considering the fact he prefers to wear long sleeves during even the hottest session of Ohio State’s August preseason practice, perhaps it is no wonder Jim Heacock has been tabbed to lead the Buckeye defense through even the most sizzling of circumstances this season.
Heacock, no stranger to the OSU coaching staff but new in his position as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator, will not be going through the fire alone, though. Luke Fickell was named co-defensive coordinator last April 14 when OSU coach Jim Tressel said goodbye to former defensive coordinator Mark Snyder, now the head coach at Marshall, and elevated Heacock and Fickell.
In a way, though, it is business as usual for the duo. Heacock, in his 10th season at Ohio State, will continue to coach the defensive line, while Fickell, in his fourth season, will continue to coach the linebackers.
Having co-coordinators is a trend Tressel started last season when he paired Snyder and defensive backs coach Mel Tucker, now an assistant with the Cleveland Browns, to lead the defense. For Heacock and Fickell, Tressel’s two-man philosophy applied just the same.
“There is so much to do these days in coaching defense,” Tressel said. “Every week our defense faces a different attack and offenses can do so many different things. And today there is so much self scouting and organization so you need to be able to share duties and responsibilities.”
The two men involved see it exactly the same way.
“We lean on each other continuously,” Heacock said. “It’s a lot more time consuming and definitely takes more organization having your own position. That’s where having the ‘co-coordinatorship’ really comes into play. We split up the duties and assignments. It really takes working together and being on the same page.”
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“We want to be fundamentally sound and be aggressive. But more than anything else, we want to make sure everyone is working together.” Jim Heacock |
While many coordinators do not coach their own position, these two men preferred to remain in charge of teaching their specialties.
“We wouldn’t want it any other way,” Fickell said. “I wouldn’t want to not coach a position. It’s the best thing because it puts the emphasis on all of us. It makes you talk more and communicate.”
For Heacock, it is the defensive line. For Fickell, it is the linebackers. Both groups have had outstanding talent and have been a huge part of Ohio State’s success on defense, which helped the Buckeyes win a national championship in 2002 and rank first in the nation against the run in 2003. In 2005, Ohio State’s group of linebackers is considered one of the best in college football.
In addition to listening to Fickell and watching their older teammates for an example of how to play the game, the young Buckeyes also could pop in a tape of their coach. Fickell started an Ohio State record 50 consecutive games as a defensive lineman from 1993 through 1996. In fact, when Heacock arrived in Columbus in 1996, Fickell was in his senior year as a starter for the Buckeyes.
Their relationship played a big part in Fickell joining the Ohio State coaching staff in 2002.
“He is a huge reason why I came back here,” Fickell said. “He is the way I got back here and I’m very grateful.”
From that point on, however, it was up to Fickell to prove he belonged on the coaching staff. Not only did he do that, he impressed Tressel so much that he made him one of the youngest coordinators in the country.
“When you observe excellence, you try to reward it,” Tressel said of Fickell.
Heacock remains heavily involved in the defensive front and in Ohio State’s plans for stopping the run, while Fickell works very closely with Paul Haynes and Tim Beckman to coordinates the pass defense. He also handles much of the practice script, or what the offensive scout team runs against the starting defense. Together, they want Ohio State’s defense to not just be extraordinary, but to be extraordinarily thorough.
“We want to be fundamentally sound and be aggressive,” Heacock said. “But more than anything else, we want to make sure everyone is working together.”
“We stress teamwork more than anything else,” Fickell said even before Heacock had finished his sentence.
When the two men do have a disagreement, their discussions are more like a debate than an arguments. The nature of the game, Fickell explained, provides room for multiple choice questions.
“Football is a game which there are a million different ways to do things,” Fickell said. “Everyone has an opinion, whether it’s us two or Tim and Paul. We have to talk it out and figure it out. It’s not just me or him; it’s all of us.”
Beckman and Haynes, newcomers who coach the OSU defensive secondary, will be among those watching as Heacock now spreads his knowledge to the entire defense and to more than just defensive linemen. Along the way, they will find out Heacock can be cool and calm, as most people see him, but create intensity, too. According to Fickell, Heacock has the ability to be composed under pressure but also be intense when the situation calls for it..
“That’s the trick, to be cool and calm but get after it when you have to,” Fickell said. “When competition is on the line, it’s tough to stay cool and calm. He can get it going and get after them.”
Fickell clearly subscribes to the same theory. A sign in his office reads, “A players’ value can be measured by his distance from the football when the whistle blows.” Even without saying it, that kind of work ethic is taught to their players by Heacock and Fickell everyday. As for the long sleeves, perhaps that is a part of it.
“I get some self-satisfaction out of sweating out a hot day,” Heacock said. “When I’m sweating I know I’m working harder.”
With their coaches leading by example, expect the Buckeyes to do more than a little sweating themselves this season. And one this is for sure. It will be a coordinated effort.
