Nearly two full months into the 10th assistant era of major college football, Alex Grinch remains the most impressive hire to date. The defensive coordinator at Washington State, who took a Cougars defense from 103rd nationally to 34th in yards per play allowed, was hired away to Ohio State -- and not to run the defense.
The Buckeyes' new co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach spoke to the media for the first time since arriving in Columbus, and clarified how he'll fit into Urban Meyer's staff. Here's what he told Eleven Warriors, emphasis mine:
"My role here is to help in any way I can in terms of adding value to the defensive side of the ball, and adding value from a recruiting standpoint. And I think that’s the charge of any assistant coach at every program," Grinch said. "Whatever titles or roles that you’re given, your job is to exceed the expectations of the head coach, and obviously the expectations here are very, very high. So from that standpoint, I feel very comfortable in working with this coaching staff. And what a great group of mentors to young men, and you’re talking elite coaches, and I just keep coming back to that."
This is a great, simple way to go about the job. Whatever your job, whatever the scheme, whatever your level, if you exceed your head coach's expectations, everything will take care of itself from there.