Ohio State Basketball: 9 candidates to replace Chris Holtmann as Head Coach

Greg McDermott

Moving right along, Ohio State will look at some prominent names for their open position. We’re not going to spend time talking about some of the truly out there home-run hires, but there are some prominent power conference head coaches that could possibly be lured to Columbus. McDermott tracks as one potential name after his extended head coaching experience.

A former player at Northern Iowa, McDermott has spent the last thirty years as a collegiate head coach, beginning with non-D1 positions at Wayne State and North Dakota State. He was brilliant at his alma mater before flaming out at Iowa State in the late 2000’s. He’s been entrenched at Creighton since 2010, leading the Bluejays to eight NCAA Tournaments as well as a very successful transition from MVC to Big East.

Each of the last seven straight seasons has seen Creighton finish Top 4 in the Big East. He’s a very successful head coach who’s already doing it in one of the league’s best conference. With the money and resources available, Ohio State could legitimately make a run at bringing him from Omaha to Columbus. You have to wonder if McDermott would leave after fourteen years with the Bluejays, but the Buckeyes could certainly make it worth his while.