Todd Glaser knew Brian Haines ’05 would make a great football coach.
“He was a senior our first year at Marietta and all of the coaches noticed his leadership skills,” says Glaser, who coached Marietta College football from 2003-05. “He always worked hard. He was always striving to know more about the game. That’s what caught our eye, and we always thought he’d be a great recruiter and a great coach.”
Brian wasn’t sure what he was going to do when his time at Marietta was done, but he wanted to give coaching a try. Needing one more semester to graduate, Brian served as a student-assistant for Glaser during the 2004 season.
That experience turned into a career and now Brian is in his 11th season as an assistant coach at Ohio University under legendary coach Frank Solich. The Bobcats were preseason favorites to win the Mid-American Conference — something they haven’t done since 1968.
“Brian is a bright, young coach, and we’ve given him many responsibilities. He’s our recruiting coordinator, which encompasses a tremendous amount of work and energy.”
— Frank Solich,
Head Coach, Ohio University
“I knew that football was what I wanted to do when I was playing for Coach (Gene) Epley. He was a hard-nosed tough guy, and I felt like I got it,” says Brian, who has been the special teams coordinator for the past five seasons. “If I had to describe our program, it’s toughness. But the relationships with the kids are very important and they have to know you love them and appreciate them. We both have the same goal in common and that is to win the ball game, to win the conference championship and win bowl games.”
Solich, who has led the Bobcats for 14 seasons, says he relies heavily on Brian.
“Brian is a bright, young coach, and we’ve given him many responsibilities. He’s our recruiting coordinator, which encompasses a tremendous amount of work and energy. He’s also our special teams coach along with being our tight ends coach, which also requires long hours and hard work,” Solich says. “He’s a guy that you can give multiple duties to and know that they’re going to be performed really well. He’s not a jump up and down, hollering kind of guy. I think he’s the kind of coach that I think players enjoy playing for. He’s able to get the most out of his players.”
Like most successful coaches, Brian says it is the support of his wife — Mary Yanity Haines ’05 — that allows him to work the crazy hours of a NCAA Division I football coach.
“I hate to say it, but for 11 months out of the year she’s a single parent. The way recruiting has taken off and traveling, I’m not around as much as I’d like,” says Brian, who also coached as a graduate assistant at West Virginia University. “She totally gets it. She takes a lot of pressure off of me. She’s got a full-time job and she works her butt off. She makes sure the kids are all lined up. She’s originally from Athens, we have family close, and the whole family loves being part of the Bobcat family.”
The Haines’ have two daughters, Blair, 9, and Quinn, 8. Mary teaches in Ohio University’s College of Business.
“We enjoy every part of it. We absolutely love seeing him succeed and the team succeed,” Mary says. “Brian’s schedule is crazy. He’s gone from Sunday at noon until Wednesday night. So, we will bring dinner to him at his office. … The girls really love it. The girls run the hill in the end zone at Peden Stadium. All of their friends hang out there, so game day is play day for them.”
- Tom Perry