Urban Meyer has pegged his man to complete his Ohio State football coaching staff, and it’s an ex-Michigan assistant and the father of a former UM quarterback.

Meyer went after and landed Bill Sheridan, a 31-year coaching veteran who has Midwest ties. Sheridan, whose son, Nick Sheridan, was a signal caller for the Maize and Blue a few years ago, served as the linebackers coach of the Miami Dolphins the past two years. In all, he has coached for seven seasons in the NFL.

“Bill Sheridan is a perfect fit for our program,” Meyer said. “His experiences in the NFL are huge. He has Midwest roots and, most importantly, he wants to be an Ohio State Buckeye. I am really impressed with him and I think he is going to be a terrific addition to our defensive staff as a coach, teacher and as a recruiter.”

Sheridan is a native of Detroit and attended Grand Valley State University. A four-year letterman as a linebacker and a 1982 GVSU graduate, he started his coaching career at Shrine High School in Royal Oak, Mich., and then spent 20 seasons, beginning in 1985, in college coaching at seven institutions, including Michigan, Michigan State and Notre Dame.

Sheridan was a member of the New York Giants’ defensive staff when the G-Men slowed down previously undefeated New England and won Super Bowl XLII to conclude the 2007 season. Despite growing up in Michigan and coaching in the NFL he painted Ohio State as the ultimate coaching destination.

“I can’t remember the last time I was more excited to take a job, and for obvious reasons,” he said. “Ohio State has a historic, winning tradition, and I am very excited to be a part of that. And with the tremendous success Urban Meyer has had at each of his schools, I am honored to be a part of his staff.”

Sheridan’s arrival gives the Ohio State coaching staff 32 years of NFL coaching/playing experience with Mike Vrabel (14 years playing), Everett Withers (seven years coaching), Stan Drayton (three years coaching) and Luke Fickell (one season as a player) also having experienced the NFL.

“The NFL provides an invaluable experience,” Sheridan said. “It is a competitive league from a talent level and strategically. But it is coaching just the same. You are still teaching football in the classroom and then you take it to the field and you teach it there.

“I have a refreshed perspective coming back from the NFL and getting into college coaching again. I am really interested to study the offenses people are running in the Big Ten. The running quarterbacks are distinctly different than what you see in the NFL. It is stimulating if you enjoy the schematic part of the game, and I do.”

Sheridan’s exact role and position group at Ohio State was not announced but he was brought on board to replace cornerbacks coach Taver Johnson. Safeties coach Paul Haynes left OSU after the season to become Bobby Petrino’s defensive coordinator at Arkansas and Johnson was lured away weeks later to join the Razorbacks’ defensive staff.

Sheridan was a linebackers coach his first nine years as a fulltime assistant: two years at Maine (1987-88), three years at Cincinnati (1989-91) and four years at Army (1992-95). He coached the Army defensive backs during the 1996-97 seasons.

It was at Cincinnati where Sheridan first worked with Ohio State’s assistant athletic director for football sports performance, Mickey Marotti, and he and co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Ed Warinner spent six years together at Army.

Sheridan also was a linebackers coach at Michigan State  from 1998-2000 and helped then MSU defensive coordinator Mark Dantonio stun the top-ranked Buckeyes in Columbus in 1998. From there, Sheridan moved on become Notre Dame’s safeties and special teams coach in 2001 and spent the next three years at Michigan.

Sheridan and his wife, Jaycine, have three sons in the sport of football: Joe coaches high school football in Michigan; Nick just finished a graduate assistantship at Western Kentucky University and is now its quarterbacks coach; and Mark will be a junior safety for Albion (Mich.) College this season. The couple’s only daughter, Natalie, will be a high school senior this fall and plays volleyball.