Ohio governor nominates former Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel for lieutenant governor

Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Monday nominated Jim Tressel to be his next lieutenant governor. The former football coach guided Ohio State University to a national championship 22 years ago and later was Youngstown State's president.

If Tressel, 72, is confirmed by state House and Senate lawmakers, he would succeed Sen. Jon Husted, who was appointed on Jan. 17 to fill the Senate vacancy when JD Vance became vice president.

DeWine and Husted have been running mates since the Republicans were elected in 2018. DeWine is term-limited.

"I want someone who every single day is working to come up with ideas, and this is a guy with ideas," DeWine said at a news conference. "And they're thoughtful and they're based on what he has seen and what he has learned."

NBC News reported Tressel has long been mentioned as a potential candidate for elected office.

Tressel didn't reveal whether he plans to run for governor in 2026.

Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost are expected to face off in the GOP primary for governor in 2026.

DeWine said Tressel is capable of serving as governor if needed.

"He will enable me to be assured that if something happens to me he can walk in and be governor that day," DeWine said.

Tresell said his nomination "was a surprise for sure."

DeWine said he visited Tressel last week at his northeast Ohio home.

"I thought he was just coming to watch a couple grandkids play basketball," Tressel said of the visit.

Tresell recounted what his wife, Ellen, told him: "It sounds like God has more work for you to do. You know we owe just about everything in our blessed lives to the state of Ohio."

Tressel's Buckeyes earned the 2002 national championship after defeating Miami of Florida in the Fiesta Bowl, 31-24. From 2009 to 2019 he compiled a 106-22 record at the school but resigned in 2011 amid an NCAA investigation involving players selling memorabilia to a tattoo parlor.

After serving as a consultant with the NFL Indianapolis Colts in 2011, Tressell was president of Youngstown State from 2014 to 2013. He was at school's football coach from 1986 to 2000 and was Akron's head coach from 1975 to 1980, during which the Penguins earned four NCAA Division I-AA football titles. Overall his college coaching record is 229-79-2.

He was inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015.

In 2024, Tressel was appointed to the Board of Trustees at Baldwin Wallace University, a private school in Berea, Ohio.

"I'm an educator, that's just what I was trained to be and that's what I'll be until I die," he told reporters.

Husted posted on X that DeWine "made a great Lieutenant Governor pick in Jim Tressel. Lt. Governor Tressel will continue to advance Ohio's economic and workforce development strategies. He's a winner!"