COLUMBUS, Ohio — As Ohio State closes the chapter on its national championship defense and looks ahead toward the consolation prize that will be the No. 7 Buckeyes' New Year's Day Fiesta Bowl matchup with No. 8 Notre Dame, Urban Meyer's greatest challenge won't be finding a way to neutralize Fighting Irish star linebacker Jaylon Smith or containing breakout quarterback DeShone Kizer.
Rather, when it comes to the weeks ahead, the fourth-year Ohio State head coach's priority will be finding a suitable replacement for the assistant coach who helped put the Buckeyes in a position to be defending the college football crown in the first place.