Alford officially signs out as OSU’s RB coach
COVER PHOTO: Former OSU running backs coach Tony Alford is showing the quarterbacks how to properly hand off to the running backs during a spring practice drill on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Picture by Sam Fahmi/Columbus Wired.
For the last nine years, Tony Alford has been a staple of Ohio State’s coaching staff, mentoring a host of players responsible for carrying the ball out of the backfield including Ezekiel Elliott, J.K. Dobbins and most recently, TreVeyon Henderson.
However, rumors began to swirl late Wednesday morning that the long-time running backs coach was leaving the team and heading up north to become part of newly minted Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore’s staff.
Later in the afternoon, Alford put those rumors to bed with an official statement via X.
https://twitter.com/CoachTonyAlford/status/1767998530319257853
In part, Alford began the statement by thanking former head coach Urban Meyer as well as soon-to-be former athletic director Gene Smith for hiring him in February 2015. He then went on to thank the Dublin community and specific individuals who guided his three sons throughout their high school tenures.
Buckeye Nation got a mere, “the support you give this program is second to none and it’s appreciated, thank you.”
Alford thanked the players after Buckeye Nation, calling them the “most important people”.
As of this writing, neither OSU head coach Ryan Day nor the university released an official statement regarding Alford’s departure, which comes as a shock for some, especially some of the players who expressed their displeasure via social media.
Denzel Burke gave several thumbs down emojis on X, while Jermaine Mathews, Jr. said, “stand on what you preaching.” True freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith simply said, “wow.”
However, the shock may not have befuddled some in Buckeye Nation when it was announced by the school which coaches were receiving a contract extension, yet Alford’s name was absent from that list.
The real shock is that he’s decided to leave an OSU team featuring potentially the best backfield in the country with Henderson, redshirt sophomore Dallan Hayden and junior Quinshon Judkins, who transferred from Ole Miss after having back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons for the Rebels. And the fact he’s decided to leave the team after spring practices have started and head north into bitter rivalry territory and take over for Mike Hart - whom Moore decided not to retain as their RB coach - is even more perplexing, if not a downright slap in the face.
But that slap might be warranted considering Day decided not to renew his contract, for reasons still not publicly revealed.
Now the hunt is on for a replacement, something Day is not unfamiliar with this postseason. He had to find someone to fill the offensive coordinator role after bringing on Bill O’Brien in January but was left in the lurch only a few weeks later after O’Brien quit to become the head coach at Boston College. Day succeeded in luring mentor and friend Chip Kelly from his position as head coach at UCLA to become the Buckeyes’ new OC.
The team has been off this week for spring break but will resume practices on Tuesday.