Paul Brown, the coach who won Ohio State's first championship, was gone. Soft-spoken Carroll Widdoes was given the task of filling the giant shoes.
Paul Brown enlisted in the Navy in April of 1944. The understanding was he would serve his country, then come back to Ohio State as head coach. Brown placed Carroll Widdoes in charge of his players until his return.
Widdoes was a quiet man with an easygoing coaching style but had limited head coaching experience. The only time he served as a head coach was at Longfellow Junior High School in Mansfield.