Jake Diebler to serve as Ohio State interim head coach remainder of 2023-24 season

COLUMBUS — Ohio State has made it official: The Buckeyes are moving on from Chris Holtmann as head coach after his seven seasons with the program. Holtmann was fired Wednesday after Ohio State tied a program record with its 16th consecutive loss in a “true” road game Tuesday night at No. 20 Wisconsin. That 409-day drought dates back to New Year’s Day last year.

Buckeyes offensive coordinator and associate head coach Jake Diebler will take over as interim head coach. There are six games remaining in the regular season, and Ohio State is currently second-to-last in the Big Ten standings with a 4-10 league record but a 14-11 overall mark.

Diebler filled in for Holtmann while Holtmann was out with the flu earlier this season against New Orleans and led the Buckeyes to a 78-36 win. Back on Jan. 9, 2022, when Holtmann was out with COVID-19, Ohio State beat Northwestern under Diebler, 95-87.

Diebler also, notably, stepped into the head coaching role when Holtmann was ejected for arguing a foul call late in the first half during a Feb. 2 home game versus Wisconsin last season. The Buckeyes made things interesting despite a 16-point halftime deficit but fell, 65-60.

“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,” Buckeyes Athletic Director Gene Smith said in a statement.

“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.”

Originally hired ahead of the 2017-18 season, Holtmann was under contract through 2027-28 after Smith signed him to an extension in May 2022. Now that Holtmann’s contract has been terminated before its expiration, he’ll be owed his full remaining salary, which is $12.8 million.

Holtmann posted a 137-86 record in his seven seasons at Ohio State, including a 67-65 mark in Big Ten play. His Buckeyes teams made the NCAA Tournament the four years it was played from 2018-22, and his 2019-20 squad might have been the best of the bunch, but the COVID-19 pandemic canceled March Madness that year. That said, Holtmann never led Ohio State past the Round of 32.

Ohio State will start a search for its next head coach at the end of the season, according to the program’s release, which also states that incoming AD Ross Bjork will lead the search.

Although Bjork officially begins as AD on July 1, he will get started in an interim role as senior advisor to Smith, reporting to university president Ted Carter, on March 1.

When Bjork was introduced as Ohio State’s next AD last month, he was asked what the expectations are for both the football and men’s basketball programs.

“You want to win championships. And that should be the expectation,” Bjork said. “Now, again, this is not for the faint of heart. Be not afraid. So we will not be afraid of embracing that. The coaches understand the magnitude of all of that. And so they have to have the wherewithal, the chops — I talked about the chops, they have to have the chops — to deal in that environment, to understand the dynamics.

“But that’s Ohio State. And that should be the standard. And then if it doesn’t happen, were we in the mix? And maybe you got beat by a last-second shot or a last-second field goal? I mean, think if that field goal goes in against Georgia the year before (in the Peach Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal). What are we talking about then? So the margin can be really, really thin at the elite, elite level. And that’s to me what happens here. If you don’t win that championship, that margin’s still really thin, and we’re right there.”

When it comes to Ohio State men’s basketball, Bjork’s first step is finding a coach who can get the Buckeyes back to the NCAA Tournament — with a roster that’s built to make a run, not just reach March Madness.