As a football coach, his nickname was “the Senator.” Now, you can soon call him the lieutenant governor.
On Monday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine appointed former Ohio State University football coach and retired Youngstown State University President Jim Tressel to the state’s second-highest office. Under Ohio’s constitution, both the Ohio House and the Ohio Senate must vote to confirm the nomination.
“I wanted someone who would focus on education, someone who would focus on workforce,” The Columbus Dispatch quoted DeWine, a Republican, as saying during the Monday announcement.
“He has the requisite skill sets. He has the criteria that I outlined. He knows Ohio,” the Associated Press quoted the governor as saying. “Jim Tressel, I trust his judgment. He is a born leader.”
If confirmed, Tressel, 72, would replace former Lt. Governor Jon Husted, whom DeWine appointed to the U.S. Senate last month to fill the seat vacated by Vice President J.D. Vance. Tressel’s term would end in 2027, following the November 2026 election.
“I don’t know this world,” Statehouse News Bureau quoted Tressel as saying. “Fortunately I believe in our governor and what he believes in. And my first job is to go to school on that.”
“I’m an educator, that’s just what I was trained to be and that’s what I’ll be until I die,” Tressel said, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
Tressel coached Ohio State from 2001 to 2010, leading the Buckeyes to six Big Ten conference championships and a national championship in 2002. His tenure ended abruptly in May 2011 when he resigned amid an NCAA investigation into allegations that players received improper benefits during the 2010 season.
DeWine “made a great Lieutenant Governor pick in Jim Tressel,” Husted said in a post to X. “Lt. Governor Tressel will continue to advance Ohio’s economic and workforce development strategies. He’s a winner!”
Following his tenure on the gridiron, Tressel served as Youngstown State University president from 2014 to 2023.
“I appreciate the Governor’s nomination of President Tressel who has dedicated his career to guiding our youth on both the gridiron as a coach and in the classroom as a college president,” Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, said in a statement. “I look forward to hearing more from Jim Tressel as the Senate carries out its confirmation duties as directed by the Ohio Constitution.”
According to the Associated Press report, the governor and Tressel have not discussed whether the former coach might run for governor in 2026, which would throw a wrench into what is shaping up to be a crowded and high-profile race.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is currently the highest-profile Republican seeking the state’s highest elected office. However, entrepreneur and Cincinnati native Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican, is also widely expected to announce a run for governor soon.
Dr. Amy Acton, the controversial former state health director during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, is running as a Democrat. She could face a crowded primary, possibly including former Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and former Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan.
DeWine reportedly traveled to Tressel’s Northeast Ohio home to discuss the role. The former football coach’s selection to fill the post was somewhat of a surprise, as some insiders thought Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik might be the favorite.
NBC 4 in Columbus confirmed that thinking in a Monday report.
“This probably is not a greater moment in our state than we’ve had in hundreds of years with opportunities,” the station quoted Tressel as saying. “We really need to do a good job of getting that workforce to execute those opportunities, to find out what it is we need to do to take advantage of them.”
