Ohio State releases official buyout number for Chris Holtmann, next steps

Ohio State made a big move on Wednesday, firing long tenured men’s basketball coach Chris Holtmann as the Buckeyes continued to struggle on the hardwood. Shortly after the news broke, the Buckeyes shared some cursory details on the move.

After it was initially reported that Holtmann’s buyout would be $14 million, slightly inflated from the figured that the Buckeyes announced: $12.8 million. He had four years remaining on his contract to take him through the 2027-28 season.

Assistant coach Jake Diebler will take over as the interim head coach the rest of the season. Ohio State has six regular season games remaining.

The coaching change also comes at a time of change atop the Buckeyes athletic program, as athletic director Gene Smith is ending his tenure shortly, with Ross Bjork on hand to take over. While Smith reportedly made the decision on Holtmann — who he had hired — it will fall to Bjork to lead the search for Holtmann’s replacement.

“I want to express my appreciation toward Chris for the first-class program, and the well-respected program, he has run here at Ohio State,” Smith said in a release. “He and his wife, Lori, are wonderful people. I thank each of them for their seven years here in Columbus and I wish them well.”  

Ohio State should have some strong options to replace Holtmann

According to Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68, two candidates have already emerged for Ohio State — Xavier‘s Sean Miller and South Carolina‘s Lamont Paris. Goodman named three other options but noted they had “hefty” buyouts. Ohio State is already paying Holtmann $14 million in buyout money.

“Two names that are likely to be on Ohio State’s list of candidates to replace Chris Holtmann, per source,” Goodman said via X. “Sean Miller and Lamont Paris.”

“While guys like Mick Cronin, Nate Oats and TJ Otzelberger have hefty buyouts, Miller’s is manageable.”

As On3’s James Fletcher points out, Oats currently has a buyout of $12 million but it will drop to $10 million on March 10. He will be one of the hottest names on the coaching market this cycle after his great work at Alabama.

Paris would be returning home if hired by Ohio State, being born in Findlay, OH, and playing his college ball at Wooster. He does have experience as an assistant inside the Big Ten, coaching at Wisconsin under Bo Ryan and one season of Greg Gard.

On the court, Paris is one of the favorites to win National Coach of the Year due to his work this season with South Carolina. Projected to finish last in the SEC, the Gamecocks are now competing at the top for the regular season championship. A turnaround nobody expected from Paris in his second season in charge.

As for Miller, he has plenty of experience coaching on the biggest stage. Arizona had a ton of success with Miller running their program. Five Pac-10/Pac-12 regular season titles came home to Tuscon with an additional three conference tournaments being won.

The Wildcats made the NCAA Tournament in seven of 11 seasons and were a regular in the second weekend. Three Elite Eights and two Sweet 16s were reached under Miller.