Is the issue that Schiano was too wedded to scheme, whether he had the talent for that scheme or not?
For example, if he had an aggressive attacking defense that relied on players being able to perform in straight man coverage, and he HAD players that were capable of doing that, he could have the two best defenses in the Meyer era. And then if he stuck to that scheme despite the fact that his players weren't capable of holding up in straight man coverage, all of a sudden the exact same defense would lead to big chunk plays.
You have to recruit to fit your scheme, or you have to scheme to fit what you've recruited. It sounds like maybe he failed to find the right pieces for his scheme but never adjusted.
OSU put a CB into the 1st round and a safety into the 2nd round of the 2016 draft. They then put two CBs and one safety into the first round of the 2017 draft.
Since, 1 first round CB into the 2018 draft, and one 4th-round CB into the 2019 draft.
Maybe they just didn't have the horses for the scheme in the 2018 season, and Schiano never did anything to adjust?
This runs deeper than simply placing the blame for the defensive failures strictly on Shciano. The other defensive coaches share in some of the blame also, such as Alex Grinch. But I believe that is was Schiano's scheme to stay in man to man coverage despite the big plays there were giving up.
I believe that in the seasons prior to 2018, they did have the personnel to play his schemes for the most part. However, the issue last year wasn't necessarily tied strictly to the DB's. The LB's were a major part of the problem also. They were out of position on many occasions and forced into coverage's that took them out of position to make plays and limit chunk plays.
Knowing this, they never adjusted to the personnel they had. IMHO, they just kept hoping that the players would just get better I guess. But the scheme didn't change much.
However, now those same players are still in the defensive line up and are making the plays they didn't make last year. Some of that is maturity. But a lot of the players have stated that they have learned a lot from the new defensive coaches, especially Jeff Hafley. They have said that the coaching staff has simplified the defense and it has allowed the players to play without having to over think their assignments. Without being there myself to witness it, I have to take their word for it.
But all of that being said, my point is that Meyer was loyal to certain players and coaches to a fault. I remember reading that he considered Schiano a close personal friend. The Zach Smith situation demonstrates some of this. Smith was a terrible receivers coach. He finally gets let go, they hire Brian Hartline and all of a sudden, players that were mediocre in the past, are being drafted in the early rounds. Go figure.
As for JT Barrett. I still am very happy that he was our QB for 3 1/2 years and appreciate everything he did for the team. He will be considered an all time great. All I was saying in his regard is that when you see what Burrow is doing at LSU, it kind of makes you think what has changed for him and why wasn't he able to crack the starting lineup in Columbus. It is just frustrating that we HAD a QB that is about at the same skill level as J. Fields all along, but we never utilized him. I'm not upset with Barrett, just bewildered that had Burrows been given a chance, maybe we make the playoffs last year. (But as bad as the defense was, it is probably a good thing we didn't).
But as for how things have worked out, if I could go back, I probably wound't change a lot. We have fields for at least 1 more season and the team is looking as good as they ever have.