Brian Smith outlasted a number of candidates to replace Tim Albin as Ohio University's head coach after the 2024 season, and he promptly delivered an 8-4 regular season that concluded last weekend.
But if Smith is going to coach the Bobcats in a bowl game, his status with the university is going to have to change significantly.
Ohio announced Monday that Smith had been placed on indefinitely leave, effectively immediately, and that veteran defensive coordinator John Hauser, widely respected throughout Ohio and the footprint of the Mid-American Conference, would take over the program.
The school did not give a timeline for Smith's absence or the ascension of Hauser, who also was a finalist to replace Albin.
Per the Ohio U. release, "Hauser's leadership of Ohio's defense has been credited as one of the factors that led the team to its 2024 Mid-American Conference Championship in 2024."
The release makes no mention of Hauser's 2025 unit, but the Bobcats ranked 4th in the MAC in scoring at less than 23 points per game, a mark also inside the top-60 of all Football Bowls Subdivision teams.
Ohio capped its regular season with a 31-26 win against Buffalo; it also defeated West Virginia in the season's second week in a game in which Rich Rodriguez's Mountaineers mustered just 10 points.
At eight wins, the Bobcats are safely assured of receiving a postseason bowl invitation Sunday when the bids are awarded following the seeding of the 12-team College Football Playoff field.
Hauser has deep roots in the MAC, having previously served as a defensive coordinator at Miami (Ohio) and prior to that being on staff at Northern Illinois. He just wrapped his third season as Ohio's defensive coordinator and last year was elevated to the role of associate head coach after the team's MAC title but prior to the bowl game.