Ohio State has had 25 head coaches since 1890, but only nine of them since 1951. The program’s modern identity was built by Woody Hayes across 28 seasons, and every coach since has been measured against him, particularly on one Saturday each November.
The Modern Era
| Coach | Seasons | Record | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Day | 2019 to present | 82, 12 | 2024 national title |
| Urban Meyer | 2012 to 2018 | 83, 9 | 2014 national title |
| Luke Fickell | 2011 | 6, 7 | Interim |
| Jim Tressel | 2001 to 2010 | 106, 22 (94, 22 after 2010 vacated) | 2002 national title |
| John Cooper | 1988 to 2000 | 111, 43, 4 | None |
| Earle Bruce | 1979 to 1987 | 81, 26, 1 | None |
| Woody Hayes | 1951 to 1978 | 205, 61, 10 | Five national titles |
| Wes Fesler | 1947 to 1950 | 21, 13, 3 | None |
| Paul Bixler | 1946 | 4, 3, 2 | None |
| Carroll Widdoes | 1944 to 1945 | 16, 2 | None |
| Paul Brown | 1941 to 1943 | 18, 8, 1 | 1942 national title |
The Early Coaches
| Coach | Seasons | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Francis Schmidt | 1934 to 1940 | 39, 16, 1 |
| Sam Willaman | 1929 to 1933 | 26, 10, 5 |
| John Wilce | 1913 to 1928 | 78, 33, 9 |
| John Richards | 1912 | 6, 3 |
| Harry Vaughn | 1911 | 5, 3, 2 |
| Howard Jones | 1910 | 6, 1, 3 |
| Albert Herrnstein | 1906 to 1909 | 28, 10, 1 |
| E.R. Sweetland | 1904 to 1905 | 14, 7, 2 |
| Perry Hale | 1902 to 1903 | 14, 5, 2 |
| John Eckstorm | 1899 to 1901 | 22, 4, 3 |
| Jack Ryder | 1892 to 1895, 1898 | 22, 22, 2 |
| David Edwards | 1897 | 1, 7, 1 |
| Charles Hickey | 1896 | 5, 5, 1 |
| Alexander Lilley | 1890 to 1891 | 3, 5 |
Woody Hayes, 1951 to 1978
Hayes won 205 games, five national championships and 13 Big Ten titles across 28 seasons, and the program record for wins is likely to stand for at least another decade. His teams went unbeaten in 1954, 1961, 1968 and 1973, and he was 16 and 11 with a tie against Michigan, a record made more remarkable by the fact that his former assistant Bo Schembechler coached the other side for the last ten of those years.
His career ended in the 1978 Gator Bowl, when he punched Clemson’s Charlie Bauman after an interception and was dismissed the following morning. Our bowl history page covers that game.
Paul Brown, 1941 to 1943
Brown coached only three seasons in Columbus but won the program’s first national championship in 1942 and is regarded by many as the most influential football coach who ever lived. He went on to found the Cleveland Browns, who are named for him, and to invent the modern playbook, the face mask, the draw play and the practice of sending in plays from the sideline.
The Michigan Problem
Since Hayes, every Ohio State coach has been judged first on his record against Michigan.
John Cooper won 111 games in 13 seasons, third most in program history, and was fired after the 2000 season because he went 2 and 10 with a tie in The Game. Earle Bruce was 5 and 4 against Michigan and was dismissed before his final one in 1987, then won it anyway.
Jim Tressel went 9 and 1, Urban Meyer went 7 and 0, and both are remembered as much for that as for their national titles. Ryan Day lost four in a row from 2021 to 2024 before beating Michigan in 2025.
Jim Tressel, 2001 to 2010
Tressel won the 2002 national championship in the double overtime Fiesta Bowl over Miami, reached two more BCS title games, and went 106 and 22. Twelve of those wins, the entire 2010 season, were later vacated by the NCAA over a memorabilia scandal that also ended his tenure. He resigned in May 2011.
Urban Meyer and Ryan Day
Meyer arrived in 2012 and went 12 and 0 in his first season while the program was on a bowl ban. He won the first College Football Playoff in 2014 and finished 83 and 9, the best winning percentage of any Ohio State coach until his successor.
Day took over in 2019 after serving as interim for three games the previous autumn while Meyer was suspended. He has won at the highest rate of any active FBS head coach, reached the playoff five times, and won the 2024 national championship by beating four top five opponents in 31 days. The 2025 season ended with a 13 to 10 loss to Indiana in the Big Ten title game and a playoff quarterfinal loss to Miami.
Hall of Fame Coaches
Eight Ohio State head coaches are in the College Football Hall of Fame: Howard Jones, John Wilce, Francis Schmidt, Woody Hayes, Earle Bruce, John Cooper, Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer. Jones coached just one season in Columbus before a long career at USC.
The Bottom Line
Ohio State has had 25 head coaches, and Woody Hayes stands above all of them with 205 wins and five national titles over 28 seasons. Ryan Day has the best winning percentage in program history and the 2024 championship. Since 1951 the program has had just nine coaches, and the record against Michigan has determined the fate of most of them. Our Michigan head coaches page covers the rivalry’s other bench.