Assessing Ohio Football’s head coaching options, is it worth taking a risk?
By: Grant Kiefer
Posted on:
Monday, December 22, 2025
ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) – Three head coaches in three years – that’s the unfortunate reality for Ohio Football (8-4, 6-2 MAC) following the firing of first-year head coach Brian Smith due to multiple contract violations.
After 15 years of stability with Frank Solich at the helm from 2005-2020, four seasons of Tim Albin from 2021-2024 that included two MAC Championship Game appearances and the program’s first MAC Championship in 56 years, to an 8-4 season under Smith, the question now arises for new athletic director Slade Larscheid–does he want to continue the Solich lineage and hire from within the program, or does he want to roll the dice and start a new era of Ohio Football win an outside hire?
Ohio defensive coordinator John Hauser walking the field during the Spring Game. [Conor Mallonn | WOUB Public Media]According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Ohio has zeroed in on two candidates to become the 32nd coach of the Bobcats. A decision is expected to be made soon after Tuesday night’s game against UNLV (10-3, 6-2 MWC) in the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl. One candidate is an outside hire, while the other is a familiar name Bobcats fans know and love.
John Hauser has been named the interim head coach for Ohio for the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl. Hauser joined Ohio in 2022 as the safeties coach and eventually was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2024. Hauser served as the associate head coach in 2025.
Hauser is beloved by players and has helped continue Ohio’s success on defense following former defensive coordinator Spence Nowinsky’s departure for Memphis ahead of the 2024 season. In Hauser’s first season as defensive coordinator, Ohio ranked first in the MAC in scoring defense and second in total defense. His group followed that up in 2025 by ranking fourth in the MAC in scoring defense.
While Ohio’s defense statistically took a step back in 2025, the Bobcats played a much tougher schedule, facing three Power Four opponents in Rutgers, West Virginia and Ohio State. In Ohio’s four losses in 2025, the defense can only truly be at fault for two losses–Rutgers and Ohio State. Rutgers was a game the Bobcats could’ve had. The defense allowed 27 points in a 34-31 loss; however, Hauser’s group only allowed three points in the second half against the Scarlet Knights. Against Ohio State, the reality of the situation is that the Bobcats played the top-ranked defending national champions. That was a game no one truly expected Ohio to win, and the Bobcats held their own in that game, trailing 16-9 in the third quarter.
The other two losses against Ball State and Western Michigan, Ohio allowed 20 and 17 points, respectively. Ineptitude on offense is what lost the Bobcats those games and ultimately cost them a shot at back-to-back MAC Championships.
Given the context, Hauser is the safest bet for the head coaching job. He’s been in the program for four seasons and has support from his players and staff. Only one Ohio player has entered the transfer portal ahead of the bowl game. No one from the coaching staff left for a new job following Smith’s firing. If Hauser doesn’t get the job, it opens up a world of possibilities. Hauser was a candidate for the position in 2024 and ultimately fell short. After going 0-for-2 on becoming the head coach of the Bobcats, would Hauser really be inclined to stick around in his same position? Would an external hire try to clean house and start a new era of Ohio Football? Current Ohio players certainly don’t want to find out the answer, as multiple players voiced their opinion on X, campaigning for Larscheid to hire Hauser.
Kevin Johns spent the 2025 season as Oklahoma State’s QB coach and offensive play caller. [Oklahoma State Athletics]Kevin Johns is the leading outside candidate, and he boasts a loaded coaching resume. Johns began his coaching career at Piqua High School as an assistant in 1998 after playing college football at Dayton. While Johns has had 10 stops in his nearly 30-year career, he was notably on staff at Northwestern from 2004-10, where Larscheid played from 2003-06. It’s unclear how much of a connection there is between the two, but they both certainly know each other.
Johns’ biggest success as a coach has come in the last five years, notably serving as Duke’s offensive coordinator under Mike Elko, who’s now the head coach of Texas A&M. He was also quarterbacks coach and worked with Riley Leonard, who led Notre Dame to a CFP National Championship Game appearance in 2024 and now plays for the Indianapolis Colts. However, Manny Diaz chose not to retain Johns after Elko left, which sent Johns to Oklahoma as an offensive assistant. He served as the interim OC in his lone season there before leaving for his current position as the QB coach for Oklahoma State. Johns became the interim offensive play caller after a flurry of changes were made for the Pokes, including longtime head coach Mike Gundy’s firing.
During his time as play caller for Oklahoma State, the Pokes didn’t win a single game and averaged an abysmal 11.8 PPG. Oklahoma State was by far the worst team in the Big 12 and maybe the worst Power Four team in college football in 2025.
While Johns’ credentials may not seem incredible outside of his stint at Duke, it appears the Northwestern connection may play a factor. It’s also very late in the coaching cycle, and a lot of coaching staffs are set in stone ahead of the transfer portal.
It also begs the question of how many coaches want to take on the Ohio head coaching job after an extremely ugly exit from Smith that will stain the program for years to come. It may also be that Larscheid and the athletic department want to distance themselves from the Brian Smith era as much as possible and completely start fresh.
There are no other presumed candidates at this time. As previously mentioned, it’s expected that Ohio will make a decision soon after Tuesday’s game, as players will hit the transfer portal almost immediately after the end of the season. So it leaves the question that Larscheid will have to answer in the next 48 hours: Is it worth the risk to change the identity of a program known for continuity for someone who has had only a few tastes of success? Or, is it the right move to make the “safe” hire and continue momentum, along with pleasing current players, and staying within the Solich/Albin coaching tree, and continue building this program, “Brick by Brick.”
Hauser’s presumed head coaching tryout and Ohio’s final game of the season kicks off at 9 p.m. on Dec. 23 on ESPN from The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.