Ohio promotes John Hauser to head coach as Brian Smith goes on leave

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The Ohio Bobcats football team on Dec. 1 announced that head coach Brian Smith was going “on leave for an undetermined period of time” and that associate head coach and defensive coordinator John Hauser was taking over on an interim basis.

No reason for Smith’s leave was given.

The Bobcats have gone 9-4 during Smith’s tenure, which dates back to last season’s StaffDNA Cure Bowl. Ohio went 6-2 in MAC play this season and tied Miami and Toledo for second in the league’s standings. Because of the MAC’s tiebreaking procedures, the RedHawks advanced to the conference’s title game, even though OU defeated Miami 24-20 on Nov. 4.

Under Hauser, the Bobcats defense gave up 22.9 points (No. 5 in the MAC) and 358 yards per game (No. 7) during the regular season.

Hauser joined the Bobcats in 2022 as the team’s safeties coach. He was promoted to defensive passing game coordinator in the spring of 2023 and defensive coordinator a year later. 

The Wittenberg grad also served stints at his alma mater, at Northern Illinois, Wayne State and The Citadel. He was Miami’s cornerbacks coach for eight years and co-defensive coordinator for six.

Ohio is still awaiting its bowl selection, which will be announced Dec. 7.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: John Hauser promoted to Ohio University head coach

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