Cleveland-Jim Tressel, a former university soccer coach and the future lieutenant governor of Ohio, said Thursday that he never imagined accepting such a position, and that, despite greater speculation, he has not thought about running for governor in 2026.
But Tressel, speaking by phone with NBC News, acknowledged that he also did not think he would be the chief coach of a Big Ten football program or president of a state university. And notably he did not rule out looking for another job once seen beyond his reach and limits.
“I have not weighed at all,” said Tressel, more recently the president of Youngstown State University, when asked about an offer for governor next year when Governor Mike Dewine, the Republican who nominated him this week to be His new deputy is limited to term.
“I have really proud of my professional life to concentrate at the time, concentrate where I am, to have faith where I am and what I do there could lead to the following,” Tresel continued. “And believe me, I had no idea what would once be the chief coach in Ohio State, and I didn’t think about that. I had no idea what would be the president of the state of Youngstown, and I never thought about it before. And I had no idea that it would ever be a lieutenant governor of a great state like Ohio, and I never thought about it until it arose. So I’m going to work hard to stay at the time, and you never know what path there is for you. “
The Ohio Legislature, dominated by the Republicans, confirmed Tressel’s nomination on Thursday with bipartisan support. Tressel, 72, will be officially sworn in office on Friday morning.
His arrival at the government and politics, for a long time anticipated by those who followed his career as a coach loaded with Championship in Youngstown State and Ohio State, including some some who nicknamed “senator” – has launched the political gossip factory in The state of Buckeye.
Vivek Ramasswamy, a young biotechnology entrepreneur with a high recognition of names thanks to his failed 2024 presidential campaign and close links with President Donald Trump and vice president JD Vance, is seen as the favorite in the governor’s primaries of the Republican party , which also includes Ohio General Dave Yost’s lawyer. Dewine had a lot In the photo, Jon Husted, his lieutenant previous governor, as his successor, but Dewine designated him to succeed Vance in the Senate.
A half dozen republican agents in the state confirmed to NBC News that Tressel Buzz is building, but they They were not aware of any Concrete plans to capitalize your political options. Both Dewine and Tressel have insisted that they have had There are no conversations about 2026.
However, it is well known in the state capital that Dewine is warm in the best case in Ramasswamy. His decision to raise Tressel, a good faith celebrity with the familiarity of the voters who rivals or exceeds Ramasswamy, immediately fueled the speculation that Dewine was creating a situation in which threesel could Gather a campaign potentially that changes the race for the governor.
A republican strategist in the state, granted anonymity to offer a theory in development shared by others, said that Dewine could have raised a Key-Blain member of his cabinet or a state legislator, someone with more conventional experience, to finish the term.
“Instead,” added this person, “was great, with someone who has such a big profile, personality and viability as a candidate for governor. Someone who can use this hanger and decide: ‘You know what, I like doing this, I’m going to Run for governor ‘”.
That template would conform to Tressel’s past, which includes several examples of it works for which Many thought it was not qualified and not prepared, and then subsequent.
After guiding the state of Youngstown of less division to four national university football championships in the 1990 over there. After a souvenir scandal that involved his players pursued him from the state of Ohio, Tressel moved to an administrative role at Akron University. And when Youngstown State needed a new president in 2014, the work went to Tressel.
Despite doubts about his lack of experience in the Administration of Higher Education, he kept the job for almost a decade, leaving in 2023.
Tressel said Thursday that he hopes to focus on the education and development of the workforce as Lieutenant Governor. Just like he did it in his career as a coach in the state of Ohio, when He would remember his players and the media precisely how many days there was until the annual game with his rival Michigan, Tressel knew how many days he will have as a lieutenant governor.
“Honestly, the great challenge I have now is that I have to make sure I update with things outside my experience,” said Tressel. “So it has been like a crash course. They continue to give me all this reading, but then interrupt me because I make all these media calls. So I need to reassure and listen, learn and see where I can help during the next 696 days. “
The political beliefs of Tressel have rarely been at the forefront of their public personality, although their inclination to the right was evident in the candidates and causes he supported.
He helped raise money for former representative Anthony González, R-Ohio, a threesel star receiver in Ohio State. He joined another former university soccer coach, Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., To lead a fundraising last year for the successful campaign of the Senate of Republican Bernie Moreno in Ohio.
“The coach Tuberville and I traveled all over the world together in 2009,” said Tressel, who added that he had not yet looked for advice from the senator, but expected to do it. “We both continued training, and we went and visited troops in 10 different bases of the Air Force worldwide, and then I could see their passion for the United States. Little knew none of us, advancing rapidly, however, many years, 16 years later, we would both be serving in different ways. ”
Tressel said he is considered a conservative republican.
“He was not a history student. He was not a political science student. So I do not intend to be able to give an exhibition on the differences in philosophies or whatever, ”added Tressel. “What I always thought is that each person in our team was important, each person in our coaching staff was important, and that we would have a strong group if we had a group that we had a variety of background, a matrix of beliefs, a variety of philosophies “
Although some Democrats in the state legislature opposed the Tressel nomination for Lieutenant Governor, offered minimal objections. Katie Seewer, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Democratic Party, who strongly criticizes Republicans as Husted, Moreno and Yost, did not mention Tressel directly in response to a question about the possibility of applying for governor. Dr. Amy Acton, former state director of Health Bajo Dewine, has announced a campaign for the governor’s Democratic nomination.
“No matter who is the nominated,” Seewer wrote in an email, “voters will be ready for a change.”
