Man this is a lot to answer.
Football is no different than any other job. There are micromanagers, delagators, and figureheads who stick their nose into everything just enough to fuck it up. Sark strikes me as a micromanager who has learned to at least give some autonomy to the defensive side of the ball. I say that last part because PK seems pretty comfy in his role, and most coordinators would've taken the first gig out if they were being micromanaged too much. I wouldn't imagine the assistants on offense have much say in the gameplan. I think defensively they do though, as PK's defense has been better when he has had better assistant coaches in his life. Both of those guys are good overall architects who seem to struggle with adjustments at time.
Ohio State has better players than we do. Full stop. On offense they were better at every position except QB and LT. Their best receiver was better than our best receiver. Their line, overall, was better than our line. Their backs were better than our backs. Their D-line was better than ours except for Simmons. As good as Hill is their number 0 was better. Makuba and Downs wash each other out but their second safety was better than Taafe. We are better at Nickel and corner. Ohio State has and has had an embarrassment of riches. They are the one team that you could say is equal to Bama/Georgia talent wise but has largely squandered it way worse than we have over decades. Look at their recruiting rankings the last 15 years 3, 5, 4, 4, 2, 5, 14, 2, 4, 2, 7, 3, 2, 5, and 6.