There aren’t too many states that have more of a football tradition than the great state of Ohio. The sport is engrained in the Buckeye state’s culture. High school football is a religion and Ohio State football is a way of life. Heck, even the Pro Football Hall of Fame sits between Lake Erie and the Ohio River, up in Canton.

Because of that background, a lot of the most influential people in the game have deep roots to Ohio. From former great coaches, to administrators, to media personalities, there’s a ton of Ohio natives across the landscape of American football.

Some of those influential people are head coaches of course, and not just at the lower levels. You might be surprised how many current FBS coaches once coached on the banks of the Olentangy or in the state during their coaching career. Or, they were born or played football in Ohio.

Since it’s the college football offseason, we thought it would be a fun exercise to take a look at any and every FBS head coach that once stomped around somewhere in Ohio. So here it goes …

Luke Fickell - Cincinnati Bearcats

Ohio State football schedule 2019 analysis, Cincinnati - Buckeyes Wire Credit: Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports

Early Life

Born: Columbus, OH
High School: Desales

Ties to the state of Ohio

Besides being born and playing his high school ball in Columbus, Luke Fickell once coached at Ohio State as the interim head coach when Jim Tressel got in hot water, then later served as the defensive coordinator, under Urban Meyer. He also played and started for the Buckeyes as a nose tackle from 1993-1996. Now he’s making Cinncinnati into one of the best Group of Five programs out there.

Jeff Hafley - Boston College

Sources continue to point to Jeff Hafley becoming HC at Boston College

Early Life

Born: Montvale, NJ
College: Siena

Ties to the state of Ohio

Hafley’s time at Ohio State was a short-lived one, but it got him the head job at Boston College. He was brought to Columbus to fix a porous defense, and turned things around in one year (2019) before getting his opportunity at Chestnut Hill.

Mel Tucker - Michigan State Spartans

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Early Life

Born: Cleveland, OH
High School: Cleveland Heights

Ties to the state of Ohio

Michigan State loves them some former Ohio State coaches. Mel Tucker replaced another former Buckeye when Mark Dantonio rode off into the sunset. Tucker was the defensive backs coach and Co-defensive coordinator under Jim Tressel from 2001-2004. He is also an Ohio native, born and raised.

P.J. Fleck - Minnesota

Watch What P.J. Fleck Had To Say About Ohio State Postgame

Early Life

Born: Sugar Grove, IL
College: Northern Illinois

Ties to the state of Ohio

Before P.J. Fleck began rowing his boat, he pushed it off the shore as a graduate assistant under Jim Tressel at Ohio State in 2006. Listen to him talk about those that were most influential in his coaching career and Tressel comes up early and often.

Ryan Day - THE Ohio State University

WATCH: Ohio State coach Ryan Day national signing day press conference USA TODAY Sports

Early Life

Born: Manchester, NH
College: New Hampshire

Ties to the state of Ohio

OK. Yeah, we went there. Look, it’s a piece about current FBS head coaches that once did their thing on the sidelines in Columbus. Ryan Day is an FBS head coach and currently coaches YOUR Ohio State Buckeyes. Urban Meyer brought him there in 2017 as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, then he was elevated to the head coach when Meyer retired.

Greg Schiano - Rutgers

Justin Fields will 'probably win the Heisman' says Greg Schiano Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Early Life

Born: Wyckoff, NJ
College: Bucknell

Ties to the state of Ohio

Greg Schiano has been at all levels of the game from his first stop at Rutgers to the NFL with Tampa Bay, and now back to the Scarlet Knights for a second stint. We can’t quite count Tennessee as a stop because of all the crazy chaos of being hired then not being hired via Twitter (how’d that work out), but in-between all of that, he was the defensive coordinator for Urban Meyer from 2016-2018.

Nick Saban - Alabama

WATCH: What Alabama coach Nick Saban said about Ohio State postgame Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Early Life

Born: Fairmont, WV
College: Kent State

Ties to the state of Ohio

Before Nick Saban was winning SEC and national titles, he was putting his work in as an assistant at various programs. One of those stops included a stint as the defensive backs coach under Earle Bruce at Ohio State from 1980-81. Before that, his college career took place in the state at Kent State.

Matt Campbell - Iowa State

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Early Life

Born: Massillon, OH
High School: Massillon Perry
College: Mount Union

Ties to the state of Ohio

Matt Campbell has the state of Ohio running through his veins. He was born and played his high school football in the crazed football town of Massillon, then played for one of the Division III powerhouses, Mount Union. He’s now doing his thing at Iowa State, but he’s an Ohio guy through and through.

Les Miles - Kansas

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Early Life

Born: Elyria, OH
High School: Elyria

Ties to the state of Ohio

Les Miles might have played for Michigan, but he was one of the Ohio guys that got away. He was born and played his high school football in the northeast city of Elyria and eventually went on to famously win a national championship as the head coach of LSU. We can probably forget about his Kansas stint, but he’s still an Ohio guy.

Jim Harbaugh - Michigan

LOOK. Ohio State football trolls Harbaugh contract extension tweet Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Early Life

Born: Toledo, OH
College: Michigan

Ties to the state of Ohio

Yeah, OK. Harbaugh may be a punching bag when it comes to jokes from Ohio State fans, but he was born in Ohio. In fact, he was born at the same hospital as Urban Meyer. It’s a loose tie to the state, but one nonetheless before he became all Maize and Blue.

Rick Stockstill - Middle Tennessee

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Early Life

Born: Sidney, OH
College: Florida State

Ties to the state of Ohio

Stockstill may have grown up in Florida, but he was born just 45 minutes or so north of Dayton in western Ohio. That’s about the extent of the anchor to the Buckeye state, but a place of birth is pretty big no?

Dana Dimel - UTEP

Early Life

Born: Columbus, OH
High School: Upper Arlington

Ties to the state of Ohio

Dimel’s playing and coaching career may have taken him far from central Ohio, but he was born in Columbus and played his high school ball at Upper Arlington, where he graduated in 1981. It had to be a surreal experience when he was head coach of Wyoming and brought his Cowboys to the ‘Shoe to play the Buckeyes in 1997. Now he is at UTEP, where he’s been leading the charge since 2018.

Tom Arth - Akron Zips

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Early Life

Born: Westlake, OH
High School: Cleveland St. Ignatius
College: John Carroll

Ties to the state of Ohio

They are plenty. One wonders if Arth has ever even left the state. He was born, played high school, went to college, and now coaches an Ohio team. We don’t know where his career will go from here, but he’s about as “Ohio” as you can get.

Scott Loeffler - Bowling Green

Early Life

Born: Barberton, OH
High School: Barberton

Ties to the state of Ohio

Loeffler played for Michigan, likely because he is from the same hometown as legendary coach Bo Schembechler. That’s right, even Bo was an Ohio guy from Barberton, Ohio. Schoeffler now leads Bowling Green in Northwest Ohio as the head coach.

Jason Candle - Toledo

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Early Life

Born: Salem, OH
High School: Upper Arlington

Ties to the state of Ohio

Candle was not only born in Ohio, but played his college football at national Division III powerhouse Mount Union. He stayed within the state of Ohio when he was brought on to be the head coach of Toledo in 2016.

Brady Hoke - San Diego State

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Early Life

Born: Dayton, OH
High School: Fairmont East

Ties to the state of Ohio

We all remember the failed stint at Michigan from 2011 to 2014, but Hoke has had a pretty good coaching career outside of that (and hey, at least he had one win over Ohio State in 2011). Hoke is a Michigan man for sure, but he was born and played his high school football in the state to the south.

Mark Stoops - Kentucky

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Early Life

Born: Youngstown, OH
High School: Cardinal Mooney

Ties to the state of Ohio

Stoops obviously comes from a football family out of Northeast Ohio. His brother Bob is one of the best college coaches of all time, and his other brother Mike is the former head coach of Arizona. The trio was born in Youngstown and all played high school ball there.