The coaching search at Ohio has stayed in-house to find their next head coach yet again.
Just days after interim head coach and defensive coordinator John Hauser led the Bobcats to a win over Dan Mullen and UNLV in the Frisco Bowl, Ohio has promoted Hauser to the head coaching role.
After the bowl win, and a celebratory coffee bath, players pounded the table publicly in front of cameras for their coach with "Hire Hauser" chants in front of cameras interviewing Hauser.
Ohio decision makers were listening.
Hauser's ability to unify the team in the shadows of the controversial dismissal of head coach Brian Smith was clearly instrumental in the school's decision to stay internal with their hire yet again.
Hauser had been with the program since 2022, first as safeties coach and then as defensive coordinator. His promotion marks the third consecutive internal promotion following Frank Solich's 2020 retirement, keeping the job within "the family" for 22 seasons and counting.
After Solich's retirement, offensive coordinator Tim Albin ran the program from 2021-24, going 33-19 with the school's first MAC championship in decades. After Albin took the Charlotte job, offensive coordinator Brian Smith took over and went 8-4 before his untimely firing. In an era where keeping your roster together following a coaching change is arguably as important as ever, Hauser's hire brings further continuity at a program that has experienced a lot of it over the past two decades.
This marks the first head coaching opportunity for Hauser. Ohio marked the beginning of the head coaching careers for his two predecessors as well in Albin and Smith as well.
Ohio's 2026 schedule features games outside the MAC at Nebraska, and home against Wofford (FCS) before traveling to South Alabama and playing Stonehill College at home to end September.
The hire fills one of the two last remaining openings in college football, with Michigan reportedly nearing a hire of Kyle Whittingham marking the last remaining opening.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.