Addressing a Statehouse rotunda full of supporters shortly after taking his oath, Tressel did not outline specific policies or ideas he intends to bring to DeWine’s administration. Instead, he noted aspects of himself he intends to plug-and-play into the LG role.
“A lot of my friends back there (in the media) and even some of my friends in the General Assembly asked, ‘Well, why do you think you’re qualified for this?’” Tressel said.
“I don’t know. But I’ll promise you this: I can listen, I can learn, I can love, and I can apply all the lessons I’ve learned from (my players), my friends, and all the people I’ve been blessed to work with — I can apply them to see if I can be a positive part of an extraordinary team."
Tressel was approached earlier this month by DeWine, who needed someone to fill the role after he sent Jon Husted to the U.S. Senate to replace Vice President JD Vance. After some deliberation, Tressel agreed. On Monday he was nominated, on Wednesday he was approved by the Ohio General Assembly and on Friday he became official.
Tressel said it was his confidence in DeWine, whom he has known for years, that made him sure about taking this step into politics.
“(DeWine) truly is an inspiration, and he is one-million-percent dedicated to making every day for the remainder of his service a day that takes Ohio forward,” Tressel said. “I want to be a part of that. I want to learn from him, serve with him and see where I can be helpful.”
DeWine on Friday called Tressel a natural-born leader whose perspective will make DeWine a better governor.
“Jim has always excelled,” DeWine said. “He is a man of integrity who knows and loves Ohio. He’s an amazingly hard worker who has a passion, a real passion, for helping young people. He has great knowledge of education, he has great knowledge of workforce development and job creation, and he fully understands how they all fit together.”
The national championship-winning coach boasts name recognition in Ohio that, coupled with his newly-apparent interest in politics and his new role in statewide office, has prompted speculation about whether he’ll enter the race to replace DeWine in 2026.
So far, Tressel has not ruled it out. If he were to run, he’d enter a Republican primary field that includes Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who has emerged as an anti-establishment front-runner in a state increasingly drawn to anti-establishment politicians such as President Donald Trump, Vance, and U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno.
For more stories like this, sign up for our Ohio Politics newsletter. It’s free, curated, and delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday evening.
Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below.
About the Author
