Why is this news?: Ohio State pays out nearly $2 million in bonuses to football staff

"From head coach Urban Meyer's $250,000 bonus for the title, down to the $42,509 for receivers coach Zach Smith, all the football coaches and strength coach, who is paid like a top assistant, had typical bonuses in their contract."

- Doug Lesmerises, Cleveland.com

Not only did the Ohio State coaching staff create a blueprint for winning a national championship, but they earned sizable bonuses for securing another football title for the university. Had Urban Meyer reached one of the four bowls outside of the College Football Playoff he would've earned an extra $150,000. If the Buckeyes had lost in one of the semifinals he would've earned a $200,000 bonus. Once the Buckeyes reached the final against Oregon, Meyer secured a $250,000 bonus this year, and he would've received that bonus even if Ohio State had lost to the Ducks. Add in the bonus for winning the Big Ten Championship and Meyer earned $400,000 in bonuses this season.

In August, the nine assistant coaches, as well as Mickey Marotti, had their contracts reworked to give them a bonus of three months salary if Ohio State made the College Football Playoff National Championship. Previously they were only slated to earn a bonus of two months salary had they made a BCS bowl game or the National Championship. Five of the assistant coaches earned a six digit bonus, with co-defensive coordinator Luke Fickell leading the way with a $150,000 bonus. There were also bonuses of a month-and-a-half salary for winning the Big Ten Championship. Overall with the bonuses for Meyer, assistant coaches, and Athletic Director Gene Smith, Ohio State handed out nearly $2 million dollars in bonuses for this championship football season.

"Probably, hire people that you trust, and let them do their job. Don't try to do too many things all at one. Then make sure, as the head coach, you maintain an unbelievable level of alignment within that staff."

- Houston head coach Tom Herman on what he learned from Urban Meyer

When he took the Houston job last month, Tom Herman became the latest branch in the Urban Meyer coaching tree. The former Ohio State offensive coordinator looks to have similar success to some of the previous assistants under Meyer who moved on to head coaching jobs, and in a podcast with Bruce Feldman shed some light on the lessons he took away from his time with Meyer. The biggest lesson Herman took away from Meyer was to make sure the staff of assistants that is assembled share your vision and your idea of what the culture of the program should be.

So far most of Herman's staff at Houston is filled out, with eight of the nine assistants being in place so far. Much of the staff Herman has assembled so far has ties to Texas, which should help out with recruiting. It doesn't hurt Herman spent some time at Iowa State recruiting Big 12 territory, as well as dipping into Texas some while trying to recruit talent for Ohio State. Herman already has a solid foundation with the Houston program after the Cougars have reached bowl games in nine of the last 12 years. With his experience under one of the best coaches in college football, Herman should be able to add to those totals sooner rather than later.

"There is a possibility of a change. We've had three very, very rough practices in terms of competitiveness. Today will be a bit more of the same."

- Thad Matta

Ohio State returns to the hardwood tonight when they travel to Evanston to take on Northwestern. With the struggles of the Buckeyes lately in conference play, there has been talk of a change in the lineup. On Monday, Thad Matta was asked if there was a possibility of whether freshman Jae'Sean Tate would be inserted into the starting lineup. So far nothing official has been announced on whether the rumored change would actually take place, but when asked again yesterday about the possible swap, Matta still said it was possible.

The most likely candidate to be sent to the bench if Tate is moved to the starting lineup is sophomore Marc Loving. The biggest reason as to why this move is being considered is because of the trend the Buckeyes have of falling behind early in games they have lost this season. Tate has consistently come off the bench with tremendous energy for the Buckeyes, and Matta would be wise to open up the game with Tate on the floor to try and erase some of those early deficits. Loving has cooled off some since conference play began, and isn't quite as much of a force when it comes to rebounding the basketball, despite being three inches taller than Tate.

"Urban Meyer won't get much sympathy from other coaches for his quarterback "problem"."

- Brian Bennett, ESPN.com

While Buckeye Nation may still be basking in winning the national championship last week over Oregon, there are still a number of things that need to be sorted out in Columbus if the Buckeyes hope to become back-to-back champions. Brian Bennett of ESPN.com put together a "to-do list" if the Buckeyes hope to replicate the success that they had in 2014. First on the list is the most obvious question that needs to be answered in the offseason. Who will be taking the snaps at quarterback for Ohio State when the team opens up their season on Labor Day in Blacksburg against Virginia Tech. Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett are still recovering from injuries, which means the answers to the quarterback question will probably come later rather than sooner.

Joey Bosa returns on the defensive line, which will terrify opposing offensive lineman and quarterbacks, but the defensive line will have to replace Michael Bennett and Steve Miller. Urban Meyer went on the record during the season saying he wasn't happy with the defensive line depth the Buckeyes had, so that will have to be a point of emphasis for Ohio State in the offseason. Tyquan Lewis, Jalyn Holmes, and Jashon Cornell are some prime candidates to step up, but Meyer has to be hoping there are even more defensive lineman that are in the pipeline to help fill some of the gaps.

Finally, the Buckeyes will have to fight complacency if they hope to repeat not only as Big Ten champs this year, but also as national champs. The good news for the Buckeyes is they have a favorable schedule, with a couple of their toughest conference games coming at home. Still, Ohio State can't take anything for granted this year because they know they'll get the best effort from every opponent they have on their schedule. It may be tough to repeat as champions in college football, but if there was ever a coach to get his team ready to do so, it is Urban Meyer.

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