Sports
Ohio Football names Brian Smith its 30th head coach
By: Andrew Bowlby
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) – Brian Smith was named the 30th head coach in Ohio Football’s history Wednesday. This comes just one week after being named the interim head coach.
Smith steps in after Tim Albin led the Ohio program for the last four seasons. Albin left the team quickly after the MAC Title game for the head coaching job at Charlotte.
For the past three seasons Smith has been a catalyst in leading the Bobcats’ offense. In 2024, the offense ranked first in both points per game and total yards per game in the MAC. During the season prior, the Bobcats were fourth in both stats.
As a part of the staff since 2022, Smith has overseen 11 All-MAC selections on offense, including five this season (Parker Navarro, Anthony Tyus III, Coleman Owen, Parker Titsworth and Carson Heidecker).
“Ohio Bobcat Football has been on a historic run in recent years, and Brian Smith has been a significant part of not only our MAC Championship team, but also our established culture of winning,” Ohio Director of Athletics Julie Cromer said.
Ohio interviewed defensive coordinator John Hauser, Notre Dame’s associate head coach Deland McCullough and former Bobcats quarterback Tyler Tettleton for the position.
“During the course of a national search that attracted several outstanding candidates, Coach Smith ultimately stood out above the rest,” Cromer said. “He presented a plan for not only sustaining our culture and foundation but also building upon it in the evolving landscape of college football.”
Cromer noted on Wednesday afternoon that during the search Ohio consulted with its players and listened to what they were looking for in a head coach.
“Where we are with our program is a unique place in history. This is something they are committed to advancing and continuing,” Cromer said.
“Their biggest ask of us was to find a player-centered coach who would come in and respect the traditions that we have in our program after decades of a winning culture. And maintain that culture and advance us with momentum toward the future.”
Among the handful of candidates considered for the job, Cromer said choosing Smith was an obvious choice.
“I asked each candidate what it would take for them to be successful, Brian uniquely provided answers to that question that were exclusively player focused,” Cromer said.
The culture established at Ohio, starting with Frank Solich through Tim Albin and now to Brian Smith, has been built ‘brick-by-brick.’ As proof, no players entered the transfer portal following the regular season. Ohio is the only school in the FBS to keep its entire roster intact.
“Coach Solich and coach Albin laid a foundation of winning both on and off the field. They did this in the right way, brick-by-brick, with a culture that will now be protected for years to come,” Smith said during his first press conference as Ohio’s full-time head coach.
Smith has a chance to lead Ohio to its third-straight bowl game victory on Friday against Jacksonville State in the Cure Bowl.
The Bobcats’ will also take a shot at history looking to win 11 games in a single season for the first time in program history.