Report: Ohio State defensive coach Joe Lyberger placed on administrative leave amid investigation

According to Joey Kaufman of The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio State defensive coach Joe Lyberger is being investigated by the university office after complaints against him. Lyberger was placed on leave during the team’s College Football Playoff run, just ahead of the quarterfinal against Oregon.

“Ohio State placed defensive quality control coach Joe Lyberger on administrative leave last month amid an investigation by the university office that handles complaints of harassment, discrimination, and sexual misconduct,” Kaufman said.

“A letter to Lyberger from human resources on Dec. 27 said his leave was to take effect immediately and pending the Office of Institutional Equity’s investigation.”

The Columbus Dispatch adds that while Lyberger has been away from Ohio State, he has still been paid. His salary, according to public university data, during 2024 was just over $72,000. Lyberger’s role within Ryan Day‘s team has been coaching linebackers as a quality control coach.

“My client and I take any allegation of wrongdoing very seriously,” Lyberger’s attorney Sam Shamansky said. “We respect the process whereby those who are accused have the opportunity to defend themselves, and we look forward to the opportunity.”

Ohio State went on to win three College Football Playoff games without Lyberger. First was the Rose Bowl vs. Oregon before taking down Texas in the semifinals. And then Jan. 20 will be a day remembered for a long time by Buckeye fans, winning the national championship against Notre Dame in Atlanta.

Ryan Day discusses challenge of continuity for Ohio State staff

After a grueling 2024 campaign, the Ohio State Buckeyes are officially national champions. However, defending your title is even more difficult than getting it in the first place.

Programs around the country will want a slice of Ohio State’s success and be willing to poach players and coaches who can help them achieve similar results. The day after Ohio State won the National Championship, OSU head coach Ryan Day discussed the challenge of keeping his staff together.

“I just think there should be great opportunity for all these guys,” Day said. “We’ll work hard to make sure that they have an opportunity here at Ohio State, but if they have opportunities to go other places and do other things, then that’s part of the reward of winning a championship.

“We’ll put this next group of guys together and figure it out because these guys deserve opportunity for what they’ve done. This coaching staff has done an unbelievable job. There’s a lot of guys in different positions, and whether it’s promotions or whatever it might be, they deserve those things.”

On3’s Grant Grubbs contributed to this report