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Ohio State has promoted James Laurinaitis to linebackers coach, the school announced Thursday.
Laurinaitis, 37, a former All-America linebacker for the Buckeyes, spent last season as a graduate assistant.
The hire adds a 10th full-time assistant to round out Ryan Day’s coaching staff for next season. Laurinaitis signed a two-year agreement, according to a news release. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Oct 28, 2023; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes assistant coach James Laurinaitis warms up his team prior to the NCAA football game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium.
The assistant coach vacancy was caused last month when Day fired Parker Fleming, the special teams coordinator for the past three seasons.
To fill the spot, Day considered replacing Fleming with another dedicated special teams coach or adding a defensive assistant. By elevating Laurinaitis, he opted for the latter, and special teams responsibilities are likely to be divided among the staff.
Laurinaitis has made a quick rise in coaching since he left the broadcasting business two years ago.
A commentator on the Big Ten Network and sports talk radio co-host on 97.1 The Fan following his retirement from the NFL, he became a graduate assistant at Notre Dame in 2022.
It reunited him with Marcus Freeman, the Fighting Irish’s coach who was also a former linebacker at Ohio State. They were teammates together with the Buckeyes from 2005-08.
Laurinaitis then joined the Buckeyes’ staff in the same role last winter and was heavily involved working with the linebackers, standing out to defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.
Speaking with reporters before the Cotton Bowl in December, Knowles said Laurinaitis had been “really important.”
“You got a guy who’s a three-time All-American, a true Buckeye, a Silver Bullet,” Knowles said. “He…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ohio-state-football-promotes-james-203741413.html
Author : The Columbus Dispatch
Publish date : 2024-02-15 20:37:41
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