ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

Jim Tressel is nicknamed The Senator, and some believe the Ohio State head coach will pursue a career in politics after he hangs up his sweater vest.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Doug Lesmerises wrote an interesting piece Friday talking with former Nebraska head coach Tom Osborne, who served six years in the U.S. House of Representatives before returning to the school as athletic director. Osborne weighed in on several topics, including Tressel's political prospects.

"I think if Jim really wanted to do it, I would encourage him, because we need people like Jim Tressel in government, because he's not your typical bureaucrat type," Osborne said. "And he would bring great work ethic and integrity to the job that I think would be outstanding. I would tell him that, you know, you're going to have an opportunity to do some things you couldn't do anywhere else. You can change education policy, you can make some difference in foreign policy, all those other things. But on the other hand, you're going to encounter some real frustration with partisanship and the effect of special interests and money, and that's going to be discouraging at times."

Tressel's contract at Ohio State runs through the 2012 season, when he'll be 60 years old. Despite some struggles this season, Tressel should be able to stay in Columbus as long as he wants. But I don't see him as a Joe Paterno type, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him pursue politics at some point.