COLUMBUS, Ohio -- As Ohio State considers its choice as its next football coach, the Buckeyes are inclined to look for what Michigan found -- a leader with Ohio roots.

With two games left in the regular season, it appears three names may interest Ohio State the most: former Florida coach Urban Meyer, current Nebraska coach Bo Pelini and Luke Fickell, who has led the Buckeyes since the forced resignation of Jim Tressel on May 30.

Ohio ties will be a factor in the search, according to those with knowledge of the process, in part because it may be difficult for the Ohio State coach to be from somewhere else while first-year Michigan coach Brady Hoke, off to a strong start and looking like a long-term solution, is an Ohio native.

But more than a coach, Ohio State is looking for a CEO. What matters on the field is only part of the decision-making process, particularly in light of the recent off-field issues in college football. Winning games is important. So is leading an entire program -- working with donors as well as recruits and overseeing a big-time program from top to bottom.

That's where Ohio State may have questions about Fickell, in his first year as a head coach. Meyer has 10 years of head-coaching experience, including six at Florida, while Pelini is in his fourth year at Nebraska. Meyer and Pelini have had years to prove they can handle the entire operation, while Fickell has not.

While Ohio State could gauge the interest of current Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, a Youngstown native, the desire for some Ohio connection may make it more difficult for a true outside candidate -- someone like phenomenally successful Boise State coach Chris Petersen -- to enter the mix. It's also reasonable to question whether secure coaches without OSU connections would have great interest in the job in its current state.

Atop Ohio State's wish list?

BO PELINI

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But in Meyer, Fickell and Pelini, the search process matches much of the conventional wisdom. Their names aren't a shock, but they are realistic options.

• Urban Meyer: The 46-year-old current ESPN analyst has been talked about from the moment he stepped down at Florida for health and personal reasons last December, before the troubles for Jim Tressel and the OSU program ever became public. Insiders have said Meyer had at least as much, if not more, interest in the Penn State job, but everything with the Nittany Lions has changed now. Ohio State has some level of belief that if Meyer does coach next season after this one year as a broadcaster, it would be with the Buckeyes.

Last week, after the firing of Penn State coach Joe Paterno, Meyer issued a statement that read, "I am very happy with my role at ESPN. I have no plans to return to coaching at this time."

It appears that Ohio State and Meyer have not yet had the serious discussions that would need to come before a hire. Tuesday night, with Ohio State hosting Florida in basketball, school officials may take the opportunity to gather more first-hand background from Gator administrators.

• Luke Fickell: The 38-year-old former Buckeye player and assistant coach is as tied to the program as anyone could be, as a four-year starter at nose guard and nine-year assistant coach. At 6-4, he has the Buckeyes one converted extra point away from controlling their own destiny in the race for the Big Ten title game. He's also overseeing at least a four-loss season for a school that has lost that many games once in the previous nine seasons. Tressel was 7-5 his first year.

But Fickell's candidacy won't be decided by one blocked extra point or one last-second touchdown pass. There's more to it than that. Whether Fickell is ready for the full responsibility of every facet of the program is more the issue.

"Whoever the coach is next year, and I think it should be Luke and will be Luke, we should thank God for what Luke has done this season," said a person close to Fickell. "He's setting the foundation for the future and getting Ohio State through this situation."

• Bo Pelini: Pelini lies somewhere between Meyer and Fickell, without the two national championships that Meyer claims, but with more experience than Fickell, his fellow former Buckeye. There is reason to believe there is some mutual interest, though Pelini's focus at the moment is getting ready for Michigan on Saturday.

Pelini has raised some eyebrows with his demonstrative sideline behavior, but he showed his side as a program leader with his postgame comments after the Cornhuskers' 17-14 win over Penn State on Saturday.

"I will be honest with you going into the game, I didn't think the game should have been played, for a lot of different reasons," Pelini said after a 17-14 victory. "I look at my job as a football coach as to educate and to prepare the kids that come into the program for the rest of their life."

Those kinds of words will matter to Ohio State as it starts to move forward from its NCAA violations, especially if they're spoken by someone from Ohio.