Dantonio will leave OSU for Cincinnati

The former YSU assistant will succeed Rick Minter as Cincinnati's coach.
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Mark Dantonio will help Ohio State get ready for the Fiesta Bowl, then take on a tougher job -- trying to build a competitive, high-profile program at Cincinnati.
Dantonio, the Buckeyes' defensive coordinator the past three seasons, was hired Tuesday to take over for Rick Minter, who was fired Dec. 1 after 10 years as the Bearcats' head coach.
It is Dantonio's first head coaching job.
"Mark Dantonio has incredible coaching experience at the highest level, and he is one of the top assistant coaches in major college football," said Bob Goin, Cincinnati's director of athletics.
Five years at YSU
Dantonio, like Minter, is a defensive specialist. He coached defensive backs for a year at Akron, five years at Youngstown State, four years at Kansas and six years at Michigan State.
The defense he crafted at Ohio State is a big reason the Buckeyes won the national championship last year.
"He has tremendous ties in the state of Ohio, and we are excited about having Mark take leadership in the football program at the University of Cincinnati," Goin said.
Dantonio, 47, has worked for Buckeyes' head coach Jim Tressel twice, at Youngstown State and Ohio State.
"We hate to lose him, but I'm extremely proud that he has achieved this position and wish him the very best," Tressel said.
Dantonio, a native of Zanesville, played defensive back at South Carolina and began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Ohio, Purdue and Ohio State before going to Akron in 1985.
At Fiesta Bowl
He will wrap up his second stint with Ohio State at the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 2, and then take over a Cincinnati program that improved under Minter but did not become a consistent winner.
Minter's teams were 53-63-1 and went to bowl games four of the past six seasons. But the Bearcats were 5-7 this season after a 3-0 start, and Minter faced increasing criticism for failing to create a larger fan base and national profile.
Goin did not think Minter was the person to take Cincinnati from Conference USA into the Big East under a realignment announced last month. Dantonio saw the move as the challenge he wanted. He plans to recruit extensively in Ohio, using the contacts he has developed over the years.
"I saw this as a great opportunity," Dantonio said. "Ohio has a tremendous group of individuals who play football; there's a lot of rich talent here."
Dantonio won't have to wait long to face his former school and longtime friend Tressel. The Bearcats open the 2004 season at Ohio State on Sept. 4.