After stellar career, James Laurinaitis thrilled with promotion to OSU linebackers coach
Bill RabinowitzJames Laurinaitis spent the first eight months after his NFL retirement in 2017 in a sort of purgatory.
He had played football since fourth grade and played it at an elite level – he was a three-time All-American for Ohio State − until his body wouldn’t let him anymore.
Those eight months were hard as he pondered his next calling. A sports-talk radio career scratched the itch to a degree, but he eventually realized he wanted to be a coach.
That goal has now been realized. After a year as an OSU grad assistant, Laurinaitis, 37, was promoted to linebackers coach last week.
“A year ago when I came back (from a GA role at Notre Dame), I voiced that was my dream – to be linebackers coach here,” Laurinaitis said Tuesday.
Because Ohio State had a staff vacancy, Laurinaitis was permitted to go on the road recruiting, something grad assistants normally aren’t. Coach Ryan Day accompanied him on his first trip, and Laurinaitis viewed it as a job interview. He passed.
Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles also had linebackers as his position group, but he delegated much of the responsibilities for that unit to Laurinaitis last year. Laurinaitis said having the title of linebackers coach does matter, especially in recruiting.
“It’s nice to be able to tell them now that I am the linebackers coach and that I don’t just coach the linebackers, and there’s a difference there,” he said. “I’ve had that used against me over the last year, quite honestly, to where parents or recruits have said essentially, ‘How do I know you’re going to be there?’ I won’t name names, but other schools have said, ‘Hey, he’s not even going to be there. He’s going to have to leave to get a full-time role.’”
Laurinaitis figures to be an effective recruiter. He’s outgoing by nature, and he won’t need to read from a script to sell becoming a Buckeye.
“I try to be an ambassador for Ohio State,” Laurinaitis said. “I love this school. It’s changed my life. It’s done wonders for me and my family. To play here, to recruit your position at the school went to, at the place you love, it’s so natural. I’m sure there are some coaches that have to come off as car salesmen. There ain’t none of that because I’ve lived it.”
One of the perks of his promotion is that Laurinaitis will get an office in the overcrowded Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Until now, he’d been sharing a room with five other staffers.
“We called it, ‘The Patch,’ ” he said. “There are no windows. You have no idea what time of day it is, which can sometimes be a blessing. There’s a lot of good camaraderie, and there are a lot of great guys in there and it could be really funny at times.”
Laurinaitis will be in charge of a unit that loses two multiyear starters – Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers. Fifth-year senor Cody Simon will the be unit’s leader after playing 374 snaps last year.
But former five-star recruit C.J. Hicks (75 snaps), Gabe Powers (21) and Arvelle Reese (zero) have limited experience. Hicks is the front-runner, but Laurinaitis expects the competition in spring practice starting March 5 to be intense.
“I think it all comes down to consistency,” Laurinaitis said. “Consistency breeds confidence. If you want to put your stake on a position, you’ve got to do it day in and day out.”'
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Laurinaitis said he wants at least four linebackers to have earned the right by the end of spring to play significant snaps in the fall.
Laurinaitis was an under-the-radar recruit at Ohio State who took advantage when an injury to Bobby Carpenter thrust him into the lineup against Michigan as a freshman. He was a star from that moment. Now he hopes to have the same path as a coach.
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“I want to see young people get to live their dream out like I was able to,” Laurinaitis said. “I joke all the time that I was a three-star from Minnesota, but my singular focus was that I'm going to keep playing football until they don't let me anymore.
“When you come to a place like Ohio State, whether you're blessed to play for four or five years here or you’re blessed to play 10 years in the (National Football) League, this town and this fan base, if you treat it right, will take care of you for life, and it becomes your family.”