Ohio promotes OC Smith to replace Albin as HC

Ohio promoted Brian Smith to become its permanent head coach Wednesday.

Smith, who served as the Bobcats’ offensive coordinator this season and has been part of the staff since 2022, was named interim head coach Dec. 9 after Tim Albin’s departure to Charlotte. Smith will receive a five-year contract from the school, according to a source.

Ohio, which won the MAC to claim its first conference title since 1968, is set to face Jacksonville State on Friday at the StaffDNA Cure Bowl in Orlando, Florida. The Bobcats led the MAC in scoring, yards per game and rushing this season.

“He presented a plan for not only sustaining our culture and foundation but also building upon it in the evolving landscape of college football,” athletic director Julie Cromer said in a statement. “He prioritizes our student-athletes’ experiences and shares our common goals of developing leaders, graduating students, unifying our community and amplifying our university.”

Smith, 44, came to Ohio as running backs coach and passing game coordinator in 2022 and added the associate head coach title in 2023. He was Washington State’s offensive coordinator and running backs coach in 2020 and 2021 and also has coordinator experience from Hawai’i, working under Nick Rolovich at both spots.

Smith is a former offensive lineman and long snapper at Hawai’i, who had two different coaching stints at his alma mater, as well as stops at Cal Lutheran, Occidental, Portland State and Oregon State.

Ohio has won 10 games for the past three seasons under Albin, and has been one of the more consistent Group of 5 programs, going 144-94 since the start of the 2006 season.