| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Interim head coach |
| Team | Ohio |
| Conference | MAC |
| Record | 0–0 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | February 27, 1980 Columbus, Ohio, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Wittenberg University |
| Playing career | |
| 1998 | Ball State |
| 1999–2002 | Wittenberg |
| Position | FS |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2003 | Wittenberg (asst.) |
| 2003–2005 | Northern Illinois (GA) |
| 2005–2008 | Northern Illinois (DB) |
| 2009–2012 | Wayne State (DC/DB) |
| 2012 | Illinois (Director of Player Personnel) |
| 2012–2013 | The Citadel (S/OLB) |
| 2014–2016 | Miami (OH) (DB) |
| 2016–2022 | Miami (OH) (co-DC/CB) |
| 2022–2023 | Ohio (S) |
| 2023–2024 | Ohio (S/DPGC) |
| 2024–2025 | Ohio (DC/S) |
| 2025–present | Ohio (Interim head coach/AHC/DC/S) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 0–0 |
John Hauser (born February 27, 1980) is an American football coach and former football player. He is currently the interim head coach, defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Ohio University [1] Before joining the staff at Ohio, he was the co-defensive coordinator at Miami (OH). [2]
Hauser was born in Columbus, Ohio and is an alumnus of Bishop Hartley High School where he played football and won a state championship in baseball. After one year at Ball State University, he attended Wittenberg University in Ohio where he played college football as a safety from 1999 to 2002. [3] He was a Division III All-American in 2002 and received his bachelor's degree in business management. [4] He earned his master's degree from Northern Illinois University in adult education in 2007. [5]
Hauser's first coaching position was as an assistant at his alma mater Wittenberg for one season in 2003. He was a graduate assistant at Northern Illinois before being promoted to defensive backs coach in 2006. [6] He left NIU for his first defensive coordinator position at Wayne State. In his three seasons with the Warriors he led a defense that led NCAA Division II in sacks, coached three NFL free-agents signees, and his defense helped Wayne State reach the national championship game for the first time in 2011. [7]
After brief stops at Illinois and The Citadel he came back to the state of Ohio and the MAC where he began a long stint at Miami (OH) under Chuck Martin with the first two years as the defensive backs coach before being promoted to co-defensive coordinator in 2016. [8] [4] In 2016 and 2017 his defenses finished third in the MAC in scoring defense both seasons and had another good showing by placing fourth in 2018. [9] [10] In 2019 they were better. They finished second in the MAC in scoring and third in total defense while leading Miami to a MAC championship that year. [11] [12] [13] In 2020 and 2021 Miami finished third in the MAC in total defense both years. [14] [15]
Hauser joined Tim Albin's staff at Ohio in 2022, first as the safeties coach, before also taking over the duties as defensive passing game coordinator a year later. [16] Prior to the 2024 season he was promoted to defensive coordinator. [17] [18]
In 2024 the football team had a third straight nine win regular season. [19] His defense finished the regular season third in the MAC in points per game. [20] At 7–1 in MAC play they qualified to play Miami in the MAC Championship game [21] Ohio defeated Miami in the MAC Championship game to give the Bobcats their first conference championship since 1968. [22] Ohio then won the 2024 Cure Bowl by a score of 30–27 and gave Ohio its first ever 11 win season, and extended Ohio's bowl winning streak to six games. [23] After the season, new head coach Brian Smith promoted him to Associate Head Coach. [24] Ohio named Hauser interim head coach on December 1, 2025, after Smith went on leave. [25]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio Bobcats (Mid-American Conference)(2025–present) | |||||||||
| 2025 | Ohio | 0–0 | 0–0 | [a] | |||||
| Ohio: | 0–0 | 0–0 | |||||||
| Total: | 0–0 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||