Bobcat Attack - Ohio Football - Could Tim Albin tarnish Frank's legacy?

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Topic: Could Tim Albin tarnish Frank's legacy?

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Kevin Finnegan

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Posted: 9/17/2021 8:54 AM

I saw someone post in the Louisiana thread how this start by Albin has tainted Frank's accomplishment. When reading that, I completely agreed. First, it seems to show that Frank didn't build a sustainable program, but rather one built solely on his name and reputation. When that was pulled away, it appears as though everything is tumbling down. I know that, for some time, Frank's loyalty seemed to be a fault, staying true to his players even when they appeared to struggle. We often said it about the staff as well during struggles. It was seen as a sense of pride that the same coordinators had stuck together for so long, but in reality it may have been a negative. No change leads to stagnancy. Now, it appears to be leading to severe regression.

Whatever donation Frank has lorded over the head of OHIO may need to be used for a buyout of Tim's contract.

mf279801

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Posted: 9/17/2021 10:15 AM

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

OUcats82

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Posted: 9/17/2021 10:29 AM

I think my biggest frustration with all this is the fact he was handed a four year contract. It seems like Ms. Cromer was likely strong-armed into that rather than some sort of interim title.

Ohio-The State University

OU_Country

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Posted: 9/17/2021 10:32 AM

OUcats82 wrote:expand_more

I think my biggest frustration with all this is the fact he was handed a four year contract. It seems like Ms. Cromer was likely strong-armed into that rather than some sort of interim title.

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.

ExVideoCat

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Posted: 9/17/2021 10:33 AM

OUcats82 wrote:expand_more

I think my biggest frustration with all this is the fact he was handed a four year contract. It seems like Ms. Cromer was likely strong-armed into that rather than some sort of interim title.

This exactly. Yeah, it was a late decision, but in no way should it have been an instant 4 year deal (especially at $535k per year). A one year prove it (exactly what they gave Craig with baseball) and then reevaluate once the season is over.

A-townBound

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Posted: 9/17/2021 11:02 AM

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 ....

Bleed Green and GO OHIO!!

Last Edited: 9/17/2021 11:03:21 AM by A-townBound

Pataskala

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Posted: 9/17/2021 11:04 AM

We've always known that Solich has the knack of getting more out of players than their skills ordinarily would allow. What we're seeing is none of that rubbed off on the rest of coaching staff.

This means we need to recruit better. Unfortunately, without a head coach with Solich's reputation, that might not be possible.

We will get by.
We will get by.
We will get by.
We will survive.

Casper71

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Posted: 9/18/2021 8:43 PM

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.

SBH

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Posted: 9/18/2021 8:59 PM

I agree. It's sad that we consider above average to be an historic achievement. Program has been stagnant for 4-5 years. He left the cupboard bare.

OakStreet

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Posted: 9/20/2021 6:04 PM

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.

El Gato Roberto

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Posted: 9/20/2021 7:05 PM

OakStreet wrote:expand_more

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.

This.

Maddog13

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Posted: 9/20/2021 10:38 PM

El Gato Roberto wrote:expand_more

OakStreet wrote:expand_more

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.

This.

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.

OhioCatFan

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Posted: 9/20/2021 11:26 PM

Maddog13 wrote:expand_more

El Gato Roberto wrote:expand_more

OakStreet wrote:expand_more

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.

This.

As one of the top "Solich apologists" on this board, as defined by a former heavy contributor on BA, I would agree with this statement.

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SBH

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Posted: 9/21/2021 6:37 AM

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.

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame

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Posted: 9/21/2021 1:40 PM

A third view is that the bar for success at Ohio is so low that we all mistook mediocrity with a big name coach for success, and that in actuality the line between where our program was at its peak and complete irrelevance is a super thin one that can be undone by a coach who is 20% worse, or a string of poor recruiting classes, etc.

To me this just underscores the pointlessness of trying to compete at the FCS level. It's Sisyphean for a program at our level; the rock keeps rolling down the hill, and we're not even pushing it a quarter of the way up each time.

SBH

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Posted: 9/21/2021 2:01 PM

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?

Last Edited: 9/21/2021 2:02:02 PM by SBH

OU_Country

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Posted: 9/21/2021 3:36 PM

SBH wrote:expand_more

Given that all of them were long term assistants, it would seem no one else would. 😉

GoCats105

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Posted: 9/22/2021 12:05 AM

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote:expand_more

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.

bshot44

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Posted: 9/22/2021 12:54 AM

GoCats105 wrote:expand_more

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.

It's all documented throughout these message boards ... I never hid my feelings on what I thought about this program.

No need to rehash ... but the damage currently being done is sadly going to take years to rebuild. Albin was never the guy for this job. He wasn't even the guy for his previous job as OC.

What I witnessed last week at Louisiana (in-person I might add! How's that for a "true fan") was one of the biggest embarrassments I've seen since my days witnessing the Lichtenberg era as a student.

It's a joke. A joke I'll witness in-person again this week at Northwestern. (True fan!)

2-10 will be an accomplishment this year. WTF. That is so depressing to type.

Attendance will bottom out. Players will transfer out. Cromer needs to turn over some couch cushions and find $550k to buy this contract out or she's just playing an instrument as the Titanic sinks.

ou79

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Posted: 9/22/2021 8:33 AM

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.

Last Edited: 9/22/2021 8:38:21 AM by ou79

shabamon

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Posted: 9/22/2021 8:52 AM

bshott and the LOVE during the TOS days were fine. Monroe always found a way to derail threads or be mind-numbingly annoying.

I'm having a hard time imagining a scenario where Albin is not allowed to at least begin the 2022 season. Even with a relatively small salary for an FBS head coach and only 14 months of salary still owed, I don't see where our penny pinching athletic department comes up with that money. Look on the basketball board. We have an ex-insider positing that some of our home games might not get on ESPN3/+ due to staffing.

If 2022 tanks in the non conference, yes, cut the losses USC-style, name your interim, and start vetting replacement candidates. We play Iowa State and Penn State within the first three weeks and while those teams would make a lot of teams look bad, you have to put up some kind of fight.

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Posted: 9/22/2021 9:00 AM

ou79 wrote:expand_more

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

rpbobcat

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Posted: 9/22/2021 9:14 AM

SBH wrote:expand_more

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

I don't know anything about Coach Albin as a person.

Does anyone, who does know him, think if the season continues as it has, he'd either resign or take a lesser buy out ?

OhioCatFan

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Posted: 9/22/2021 9:42 AM

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.

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Posted: 9/22/2021 10:15 AM

OhioCatFan wrote:expand_more

Ouellette ran to the one foot line on first and goal. We called the EXACT same play on second down, but the defensive tackle made a great play to push his blocker in the path of the pulling guard which gave their linebacker a free line to chop AJ down for a loss. Third down was the interception, but the play call on second down was the killer.