Life moving fast as Ohio State's Jake Diebler settles into interim head coaching role
Jake Diebler’s baptism by fire hit home when he finally got there at the end of his second day.
After waking up Wednesday morning as Ohio State’s associate head coach and finishing the day as the program’s interim coach following the surprise firing of Chris Holtmann, Diebler’s day was a whirlwind. It started with a meeting with athletic director Gene Smith, who offered him the chance to coach the team for however long the 2023-24 season would last. Once that was decided, the to-do list grew exponentially.
Diebler met with his fellow coaches to start scratching out a plan. He met with the team. He called at least one family member for all 15 players. He had individual meetings with each player. Thursday’s practice was planned, complete with a few alterations to better fit his style. That night, when he finally got home, Diebler said his wife asked him how the day had gone while pointing out she hadn’t heard from him all day.
That’s when the reality of what’s now on Diebler’s plate hit him in a way only a coach could understand.
“Somehow, I feel like we accomplished so much but also feel like we didn’t accomplish enough at the same time, with all the individual meetings and practice,” Diebler said Friday afternoon.
It was an accurate and honest summary of what the last 48 hours have been for Diebler and the Buckeyes, whose 62-54 loss at No. 20 Wisconsin on Tuesday night proved to be the final game in the seven-year Holtmann era. Nobody within the program knew it at the time, and when Ohio State got back early Wednesday morning the focus was already shifting to Sunday’s home game with No. 2 Purdue.
Leading that charge is Diebler, who said his biggest challenge has been maintaining the proper focus on trying to help his players navigate the new normal while also grieving the sudden dismissal of a coach in Holtmann who hired him and grew to be like a family member.
“I understand there’s a job to do here,” he said. “I’m excited about what’s left this season and the opportunity in front of is us certainly going to be challenging, but we had a great practice (Thursday). Our guys were hurting. There were a lot of different emotions and we were able to rally together. In my opinion, I felt like we won (Thursday) with a good practice.”
Once the news broke, Diebler said he heard from seemingly countless friends and fellow coaches offering their support. He heard from Homer Drew, who coached him at Valparaiso, Bryce Drew, who hired him as an assistant at Vanderbilt, and Scott Drew, the longtime coach at Baylor. Former Ohio State and current Baylor coach Thad Matta, who hired Diebler as a video coordinator for the Buckeyes in 2014, also reached out, he said.
“The common theme is be yourself,” Diebler said of the conversations with his family members. “They know who I am and they know the characteristics that I have that they feel can serve this program and players well. They all said be yourself.”
This will be Diebler’s first full-time coaching experience, but he does have some limited experience in the main chair. He filled in for the Buckeyes when Holtmann and associate head coach Ryan Pedon missed a Jan. 9, 2022 home game with Northwestern after testing positive for COVID-19 and again this season when Holtmann missed a Dec. 21 home game with New Orleans due to the flu.
“Two and a half, if you want to be technical,” Diebler said, jokingly, in what was a rare lighthearted moment during the 30-minute press conference. “Being as transparent as possible here, I feel really comfortable about (coaching) the game and those experiences certainly helped with that.”
When the press conference came to an end, Diebler stuck around for a few extra minutes to shake hands and thank the reporters on hand for being there. Then, it was time to head to the practice gym, where as a member of Holtmann’s staff he would arrive early to help players get up some extra shots.
Those duties haven’t changed, even as he’s now the man in charge. There’s just more to do in the same amount of time to do it amid a season barreling toward an unknown finish amid a surprise coaching change.
Simultaneously accomplishing a lot but not enough seemed to sum it up.
Get more Ohio State basketball news by listening to our podcasts
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State basketball: How is Jake Diebler faring as interim coach?
