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Ohio State Athletic Director Publicly Comments On Chris Holtmann’s Status

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COLUMBUS, OH – DECEMBER 04: Ohio State University athletics director Gene Smith listens during a press conference at Ohio State University on December 4, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. At the press conference head coach Urban Meyer announced his retirement and offensive coordinator Ryan Day was announced as the next head coach. Meyer will continue to coach until after the Ohio State Buckeyes play in the Rose Bowl. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith stood behind Chris Holtmann amid public calls for his job.

The Buckeyes fell to 13-7 following Saturday’s 83-58 loss to Northwestern. On Sunday, Smith expressed no desire to change head coaches during the season

“We have a lot of this season left to play, and we have coaches and players that are focused on winning every day,” Smith said, per Adam Jardy of The Columbus Dispatch. “I’m looking forward to seeing how this (season) turns out.”

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Holtmann led Ohio State to at least 20 wins in each of his first five seasons. However, the team’s recent downturn puts him under the microscope.

Ohio State missed March Madness after going 16-19 last year with a 5-15 conference record. Holtmann’s team is in danger of not making the NCAA tournament field again.

Ohio State has lost five of its last six games in Big Ten play. That includes consecutive double-digit road losses to Nebraska and Northwestern.

The Buckeyes got blown out despite receiving 33 free-throw attempts on Saturday. Sophomore guards Bruce Thornton and Roddy Gayle Jr. were the only players to record more than five points.

After the game, Holtmann said the entire team “just have to be better.”

“I believe it is fixable,” he said, via 247Sports. “It’s our job to fix it. I definitely think it’s fixable, and we’re going to work like h–l to find a way to fix it and be better than we were tonight.”