Al Washington Shares His Affinity for Ryan Day, Ohio State and Coaching Near His Family
How close did Al Washington come to actually leaving Ohio State this offseason? Only he knows the answer to that question.
And he prefers to keep it that way.
Washington was engaged in an unfortunately public job offer and contract negotiation with the new staff at Tennessee just a few weeks ago. Washington admitted that he wished those closed door conversations would have remained private, but understands that once they got out, there was no stopping it.
Nevertheless, Washington ultimately decided to stay home in Columbus and coach for a team that means an awful lot to him and his family. He acknowledged his long-term coaching goals to become a defensive coordinator and ultimately hopes to run his own program, but it wasn't yet time to leave a place that is really special to him. I asked him during Thursday afternoon's press conference if he would elaborate on why he feels so passionately about coaching at Ohio State.
"Well, it's a special place and it all starts with the people," Washington said. "You could have a job on Mars, but if it's good people, I feel like that makes it a better job and a good job. And so, it's about the people here, number one. Not to say that the places I've been in the past did not have good people, but I really enjoy the people I work with here. Starting with Ryan Day. Obviously, it's well-documented. I've known Ryan (for a long time) and Ryan is a very influential person to me professionally and I've known him personally for years, so I'll start with him. He's a great leader. He's an elite person to mold yourself after because of his habits and the way he lives his life. So, I'll start with that.
"But then you go to the defensive side and we've got some great guys. Kerry Coombs is an unbelievable leader and a great person. Larry Johnson. I mean, I could go on and on. Both on the defensive and the offensive side. So, that's why Ohio State is special because of the people that you have a chance to work with. And I'm being honest about that. And they make you better. The people here make you better because everything at a place like Ohio State is expected to be excellent.
"The second piece for me personally is this is home. On Sunday, my mom had a chance to come over, and she drove 20 minutes instead of 12 hours and she was able to see my kids, her grandkids. They get to know her as "Ya-Ya." And they really get to know her. My father (Al Washington Sr., who played at Ohio State) is over all the time and he shares his opinion all the time. He knows the players, he's around it and it's unique."
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