I really don’t think that any sort of potential donation played into this decision, not in a major way. Frank and his doctor decided that he needed to retire VERY late in the off season cycle (or at least that’s when it was communicated to the Athletic Department. My guess is that at that point, Cromer felt (correctly) it too late to make an outside hire, so she and Frank decided who on staff would make the best internal hire. Frank, loyal guy that he is put forth Albin and Cromer agreed. (Alternatively, Albin might have previously been identified as the next man up if our 76 year old coach needed to be replaced in short notice in the midst of a pandemic)).

The results on the field are what they are, but based on the timing when these decisions took place, i don’t see why a hoped for donation (even a 6-figure one) would have had to factor into it

I'd be interested to know the details of those 4 years. I thought I saw something about what can happen after the first two years, but I don't recall the details. Definitely not a good trend after just three games.

After Coach Solich, I could see the Ohio job being of interest to those wanting to continue his legacy and build upon what he accomplished here. Four years down the road after Albin ....

I blame this is as much on Coach Solich as Albin. For the past 10 years I have said the staff has simply never recruited enough good players to win a MAC championship. That is obvious this year. The last five years of poor recruiting Has resulted in this dismal start. We simply do not have the players to compete with hardly anybody. I am not sure Solich would be doing any better than Albin with this crew. Having said that, this team needs to develop an identity. Figure out who the quarterback is going to be and play him. Then, get the best defenders you have and let them play.But most importantly go out and get a bunch of better players.

It's remarkable how much difference the loss of Frank Solich has made on the team so quickly. To me, this highlights what an exceptional coach he has been and makes me appreciate him even more.

It's hard to imagine this to be true in a team sport like football, but it would appear that Solich missing from the sideline has, indeed, had a tremendous impact; perhaps, he was even more capable of a coach than we ever knew.

Another view could be that the talent level under Frank dropped precipitously the past three years. Let's face it, Coach Solich "hid" behind COVID to avoid playing Miami and Buffalo last year. He knew the talent was thin and that the program was backsliding. We gave him 16 years - and a lot of money by MAC standards - to build a program that could rise to the top of the league and stay there. Didn't happen.

I agree with this assessment, with one caveat: Had Frank Solich held his staff/friends accountable for consistently mediocre (at best) recruiting classes and the inability to get it done on the field during key games, we might not be in our current position. Scott Ipshording? Ron Collins? Albin? Good grief, who else would hire these guys?

This is pretty much what Monroe Slavin and Bshot44 have been preaching for years and they got absolutely murdered (figuratively speaking) on this board for not being "true" Ohio fans. There's nothing wrong with taking a second or third look at the program to see what is really going on. The reality is Ohio has never recruited at even the top of the MAC consistently and relied heavily on development. Quite FRANKly (hehehe) it's amazing what the staff was able to do for 16 years, but if you couldn't see this coming I'm not sure what to tell you. It was painfully obvious and it was even more obvious once the keys were handed over to a longtime assistant who we've all complained about (play calling, consistency, etc.) even before we knew he was gonna be the head coach.

This is why I always felt it necessary to work with Coach Solich on a succession plan that DIDN'T include Ohio just handing a job to an assistant. Obviously there was no chance of that happening when Frank decided to be done two months before a season began, but I would have had no problem giving Albin a one-year interim tag. Spare me the "well that destroys recruiting" argument. If a kid was really gonna come and play here, he knew Albin was on staff. A one year contract to prove himself isn't gonna change much. But a couple seasons worth of losing will. Had we known Frank would retire Ohio could have prepared better. I'm sure the AD was caught off guard just as much as we all were.

Spot on Bshot44. In reality if we lose the next couple or so games Cromer should go ahead and make an announcement before the end of the season that Coach Albin is gone now and that "X" will complete the season as Interim HC while the University is conducting a nationwide search for a new HC. What more damage could be done by doing that? Come up with the $$$ to buy out Albin's contract for next year and move on quickly. Otherwise I fear that continuing down the path we are currently on will only destroy the program on many levels.

Not gonna happen. The losing will, but not the scrapping of the coach after his first year. Reckless use of resources, bad PR.

Have to agree with bshot44 100%. That might be a first.

I also believe that disparate times call for disparate measures. Cromer needs to beg our most well-healed, athletic-oriented alums to donate to a buyout fund. She can then say that no public money was used for the buyout.

Albin trivia question: Was Coach Albin the one who called the bootleg pass when OHIO was on the one-foot line at UC with a chance to win the game with a TD? The pass was intercepted. After the game I remember Frank saying that it was on him, because he should have overruled this extremely stupid call.