Sports
Brian Smith will be Ohio Football’s Interim Head Coach for the Cure Bowl
By: Andrew Bowlby
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) – Hours after Ohio triumphed over Miami to win the 2024 MAC Football Championship, catastrophic news hit the program.
Tim Albin, the head coach, who had been in Athens for 20 years, was leaving for a new job at Charlotte. Shocking news that threw an entire fan base a curveball.
Sunday, the program announced that Brian Smith would serve as the Interim Head Coach for the team’s upcoming Cure Bowl Game against Jacksonville State.
Smith, a lifelong football coach, has been with Ohio for the last two seasons and has served as the offensive coordinator and play-caller.
He takes over as the Interim coach in a spot where the Bobcats are looking for a bit of history. They have a chance to win their fifth-straight bowl game, what would be a school record. Also, they can also win 11 games in a single season for the first time in Ohio’s 130-year history.
While Smith will remain as the offensive play-caller for the Cure Bowl, he also now takes on the additional responsibilities as the head coach.
“There’s obviously a much larger workload that comes with the added responsibilities of head coach,” Smith said during his first press conference as Interim Head Coach. “With the bowl game, you have some extra time and extra days to manage the prep work.”
“The great thing is, I have an awesome staff. They know what we do, and they can take on some of the load of helping me throughout the week.”
The change at the position was abrupt. Smith noted that although the players and coaches didn’t fully get to celebrate their MAC Title, they are looking ahead to their next opponent.
“The thing with our kids is they’re amazing and they’re resilient. So they bounced back extremely well,” Smith said.
Ohio’s full roster is expected to play in the upcoming bowl game. The opposite case of last year when a large majority of the team entered the transfer portal.
With an opportunity at continuing a winning tradition in bowl games, Smith is looking forward to leading the Bobcats.
“It is definitely an honor to be able to lead this group,” Smith added. “One of the reasons why it’s such a great honor is just how great our kids are, how strong the culture is here, how fun of a team it is to coach.”
For the last two seasons Smith has been in the coach’s booth on gameday. Now, he will step down onto the field and be in the atmosphere.
“It’s different energy, that’s for sure. It’s always fun to be a part of that with the players,” Smith said. “I enjoy being in the box sometimes as a play-caller because I’m removed from that and you’re not making emotional decisions. But being involved with the players is a lot of fun.”
Ohio hasn’t made anything official. Smith said he’s interested in the full-time coaching job.
“I will definitely pursue it. This is a goal of mine, I love being in Athens, I love this team,” Smith said. “To be able to stay here longer and lead a program like this would be an honor.”
Ohio will face a Jacksonville State team in the Cure Bowl that also won it’s conference title game this season. The Gamecocks took down Western Kentucky in the Conference USA Championship last Friday.
Smith said they are a unique defense and do things Ohio hasn’t seen this season.
The Bobcats will face Jax State on Dec. 20 from Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla. The game will be on ESPN at Noon.