OPINION: WVU's next head football coach is just a short drive from Morgantown

The man that should next lead West Virginia football is practically in the program's backyard.

To get to his office from Milan Puskar Stadium, it takes right around 2.5 hours. All it requires is a short drive down I-79 to Clarksburg, followed by a quick jaunt across US Route 50.

He's not a man with any West Virginia ties -- originally, he hails from Oklahoma -- but he knows the Appalachian region well, and currently leads a successful program in a small college city not too different from Morgantown.

Who is this mystery man? Why, it's current Ohio University Head Coach Tim Albin.

With all the rumors about Jimbo Fisher, which is not happening, and Rich Rodriguez, which may be happening but is not for certain, there hasn't been a lot time focused on the non-flashy names that could draw Wren Baker's interest. But WVU Athletic Director Wren Baker doesn't always go for the flashy names -- he has already said he's "not worried about winning the press conference. And it's Albin certainly fits the mold for the job better than any of the non-flashy names -- and some of the flashy ones as well.

Let's start with the basics -- Albin currently leads the Ohio Bobcats in the Mid-American Conference (MAC), with a 33-19 record over four seasons. On Saturday, he led the Bobcats to a 38-3 win over bitter rival Miami (OH) in the MAC Championship. It marks the third consecutive 10-win season for Ohio -- Albin's mentor, the legendary Frank Solich, managed just one 10-win season in 16 years with the program. But Albin also played a role in Solich's 10-win season as well, as he served as the offensive coordinator for the Bobcats during the entirety of Solich's tenure.

In fact, Ohio has only won 10 games in a season five times in it's 130-year history. The last before Solich came in 1960. Ohio is on of just five teams to win 10+ games each year since 2022 -- they join Ohio State, Georgia, Oregon, and Penn State on that list. The Bobcats conference championship win is the first for the program since 1968, and they have also won back-to-back bowl games with a chance to make it 3-0 during Albin's later this month.

Ohio also accomplished that title with a roster which was severely depleted by the transfer portal. Ohio's starting quarterback from 2023 is Kurtis Rourke, who is currently helming the offense of an 11-1 Indiana team set for their first College Football Playoff appearance.

Ohio also lost their top three rushers from 2023 as well as their top seven receivers and top three tacklers on defense -- two of those players were First Team All-MAC linebackers. In 2023, the Bobcats actually had six players named All-MAC selections, all of whom either graduated or transferred to a new program.

Ohio also had the 6th-ranked scoring defense and 4th-ranked total defense nationally in 2023 -- after the season, they also lost defensive coordinator Spence Nowinsky, who now helms the defense for No. 25 Memphis.

That didn't stop Ohio's defense from being a top unit nationally again in 2024 -- new defensive coordinator John Hauser now leads a unit that is the 12th-ranked total defense and 16th-ranked scoring defense nationally.

According to the Three Technique Podcast, an anonymous MAC coach called Albin a "miracle worker" over this past offseason. And Ohio quarterback Parker Navarro described Albin on Saturday as a "leader of men" that "everyone" in the Ohio locker room wants to play for.

What makes Tim Albin the right fit for WVU?

Why does Albin fit the mold for the WVU job? There are a number of reasons.

The first I've already written about at length, at it's his historic success at Ohio. The Bobcats were a perennial non-competitor in the MAC before Solich -- with Albin as an assistant -- arrived. Solich turned the Bobcats into a year-in, year-out contender in the conference, grooming Albin as a leader relying upon his offensive firepower. Since taking the reigns following Solich's retirement, Albin has not only continued the success but expanded upon it.

Albin also fits the mold of the type of hire AD Baker has made in two other revenue sports at WVU. Albin is a proven winner at the Group of 5 level and in the 1990's was a proven winner at the NAIA level, leading Northwest Oklahoma State to 25-8 record over three seasons, including a 13-0 record and NAIA National Championship in 1999. He also has a long tenure as an assistant under a legendary head coach

Both current women's basketball coach Mark Kellogg and men's basketball coach Darian DeVries have had success in their limited stints at WVU -- Kellogg was a proven winner at the D2 level with a pair of national runner-up seasons and a proven winner at mid-major Stephen F. Austin. DeVries spent nearly two decades as an assistant under elite college basketball coaches in Dana Altman and Greg McDermott before becoming a proven winner as a head coach at mid-major Drake.

Despite being an offensive minded coach, Albin has had stout defenses under multiple defensive coordinators -- and most WVU fans are itching for a coach who can get a defense in line that was ranked amongst the worst nationally in numerous categories.

Albin has also coached numerous professional talents at a small MAC school -- Albin has sent seven players to the NFL as undrafted free agents and three more as NFL Draft picks, as well as sending numerous players to the CFL, including two CFL Draft picks.

Albin knows how to work the transfer portal and to hire a staff -- as outlined earlier, he took a depleted roster and staff after the 2023 season and re-loaded well enough to secure another 10-win season at a school with little to no resources.

Ohio University is situated in Athens, Ohio -- a small college city very similar to Morgantown in size that sits in the heart of the Appalachian foothills. He understand the culture of the Appalachian region and of a college city similar to Morgantown, and he also brings connections to the fertile recruiting grounds of Ohio.

Finally, Albin currently earns just $700,000/year to coach for the Bobcats, meaning he will demand nowhere near as much money as a big hire likely would.

There will be a number of fans who say we can't re-tread the Group of 5 hire that has only won at smaller levels of college football -- a counter-argument can be made by looking around the Power 4 landscape. Curt Cignetti took the Indiana job from a Group of 5 program and no power conference history -- the Hoosiers are 11-1 in his first year despite being under-resourced in football in the Big 10.

Lance Leipold was a proven winner at the D3 level and at Buffalo in the MAC before excelling at turning Kansas around, and Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman made the jump to Big 12 straight from the FCS, where he was, once again, a proven winner. Just because former WVU head coach Neal Brown failed doesn't not mean all Group of 5 and FCS hires will also fail -- that's simply a fallacy.

It's clear that Albin is the type of coach who knows how to win ball games and lead a successful program -- West Virginia fans should just hope Wren Baker is willing to take the same chance on Albin he took on Kellogg and DeVries before someone else does.

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