No, seriously, Bowling Green should hire Ohio State's Jeff Boals

Sure, the goings on at Alabama, Wichita State and Texas may be dominating the limelight in college basketball coaching search season, but that doesn't mean there aren't big moves happening on the sides. This morning, Bowling Green fired their coach, Chris Jans, after only one season "after an investigation into his conduct". Jans had a pretty successful first year, all things considered, leading the Falcons to a 21-12 record, their most wins since 2001-2002 season, when a certain Mr.Dakich roamed the sidelines (just imagine what that BGSU team could have done if Trey McDonald had redshirted).

In their statement, Bowling Green said that a "national search for a replacement" would begin immediately. This seems supercilious, as a perfectly great candidate, one who can continue to build off this momentum, is already in the great state of Ohio, just two hours to the south. I won't even charge BGSU an exhort search committee fee.

Are you ready? Bowling Green needs to hire Ohio State's Jeff Boals.

Okay, we admit, we're not strangers to the #HireJeffBoals bandwagon. Actually, we're driving the damn thing, and have promoted his candidacy for everything from the Florida A&M gig to the Senate Minority Leader post. But here, we strip every bit of internet-focused hyperbole and say this with all the sincerity that we can muster. Bowling Green really should hire Jeff Boals to be their coach.

Why? First, Boals has had the chance to learn from one of the best, Thad Matta. Even the most ardent Matta-skeptics have to recognize that there are very few coaches with a more impressive coaching tree than the current Buckeye headman. John Groce, Sean Miller, Brad Stevens, Archie Miller, and now Brandon Miller at Butler were all former employees under Thad Matta. Ohio State assistants haven't been in quite as high demand over the last few seasons as they were when the Buckeyes were a regular Elite Eight threat, but that doesn't mean Matta has forgotten how to coach, or how to teach his coaches. Boals has been in Columbus since 2009, he's learned quite a bit.

And what has he done in Columbus? Beyond being a part of instructing perennially excellent defensive squads, Boals has helped reel in big time recruiting classes. The Buckeyes brought in Top 10 classes in 2014 and 2015, and just signed a well regarded four-star big man, Derek Funderburk, out of Cleveland. The 2010 recruiting class was one of the best in Ohio State's history, including a big man named Jared Sullinger that turned out pretty okay, and a point guard not too far from BGSU named Aaron Craft. When Ohio State has had scholarships to offer, during Boals' tenure, they've been able to get talent, and defend. You need that to be successful in the Big Ten.

But Boals hasn't just been around the Big Ten. He knows the MAC well. He's been an assistant at Ohio and at Akron, helping recruit one of the Zips' best players in recent memory, Zeke Marshall. Virtually everywhere he's been, from Marshall, to D2 schools, he's been heavily involved in recruiting, especially around the great state of Ohio.

Having a young, exciting guy who has a proven record of bringing in talent is never a bad thing, especially in the MAC, which has become one of the tougher one-bid leagues in the country. Last year, Bowling Green brought in three players, but was ranked only 8th in the MAC. They were ninth the year before, also after signing three players (all rankings via the 247Sports Composite). Not one of those six players came from Ohio.

Boals isn't old, he knows the league, he knows the state, can help get a team to defend, won't break the bank, and can help elevate the talent level at Bowling Green, which is important for a school that isn't in an exciting city, and hasn't enjoyed consistent basketball success in a very long time. Also, you don't have to take our words for it. Other people like him too.

We like Jeff Boals. We legitimately think he's been a great assistant coach at Ohio State, and would be sorry to see him go. But we also believe in letting people get promoted when they deserve it, since that ultimately makes Ohio State a better, more attractive place to work (plus, #karma, etc). There's no reason to make this more complicated than it has to be, BGSU. Just #HireJeffBoals.