Buckeyes Paying Ex-Cowboys Coach Record-Setting Money

The Ohio State Buckeyes are dead set on getting back to the college football playoffs and, this time, winning the national championship after falling short of the eventual national champion, the Georgia Bulldogs. Since then, the Buckeyes have made some staffing additions this offseason to help them get over the hump.

Yet, the most recent addition was not a position coach or a coordinator. Rather, it was for an offensive analyst who will serve in an off-the-field capacity. It was announced a few weeks back that Ohio State had hired Joe Philbin, a 39-year NFL coaching veteran, to join their staff.

Thanks to Eleven Warriors' report, we know what it cost the Buckeyes to land Philbin. According to the report, Ohio State will pay Philbin $266,667 in 2023, which makes him the highest-paid analyst in program history. This is a serious jump in pay for an analyst at Ohio State, as Eleven Warriors noted fellow analyst Todd Fitch was paid just $48,000 last season.

The report added that Fitch has seen a pay increase as he will make $250,000 in 2023. So, what made the Buckeyes place so much value on these staff members who aren't allowed to coach?

Well, it has become a trend in college football that many of the national title-winning programs employ not only a premium coaching staff but a support staff, including analysts and quality control coaches. Alabama's Nick Saban has famously utilized these off-field coaching roles to hire former head coaches who were recently fired to help rehabilitate their image before seeing them get another shot.

Look no further than Steve Sarkisian, who went to Alabama following a failed stint as USC's head coach. Sarkisian spent the 2016 season as an analyst before leaving for the coordinating job with the Atlanta Falcons for two seasons, then went back to Tuscaloosa to become their coordinator and now is the head coach at Texas.

It seems now Ohio State will be looking to find similar success, starting with Philbin, who is fresh off a three-season stint as the Dallas Cowboys offensive line coach.