(This story has been updated with additional information.)
Mark Solis stopped short of saying his arrival as New Albany football coach automatically means the traditionally run-first, wing-T-oriented Eagles are on the verge of a dramatic makeover.
But Solis, whose perennial playoff teams at Olentangy routinely scored 30, 40 and even 50 points out of the spread, might have given a slight nod in that direction after his hiring at New Albany on April 13.
“I will say this, if you are a quarterback in the New Albany community, I think you’re going to really like the things we are going to do,” Solis said. “It’s easy to pay attention to skill-[position] players, but it doesn’t matter what scheme you have, what kind of players you have at the skill positions, everything starts with the guys up front. To have any sustained success … it all comes down to offensive line play.”
After four years as an assistant at Hilliard Davidson on the heels of a nine-year run at Olentangy, Solis’ hiring at New Albany was board-approved April 13, hours after his introduction in a district press release.
Solis, who has a 169-86 career record at five central or northeast Ohio high schools since 1999, will be tasked with revitalizing a program that has struggled in recent years after reaching four regional finals between 2013 and 2022.
Having planned to work in Dublin Jerome’s program this fall, Solis said this move came together within the past several days.
“Opportunities present themselves that you never expected,” Solis said. “I wasn’t necessarily looking for anything, but it happened very fast. I had a couple conversations, felt good about them … and when it was all said and done, both sides decided it was going to be a very good fit and we decided to move forward.”
Solis succeeds Brian Finn, who resigned Feb. 5 after four seasons as head coach and 26 coaching in the program.
The Eagles are coming off three consecutive four-win seasons.
Solis went 68-36 in nine seasons at Olentangy, guiding the Braves to eight consecutive playoff appearances, three league championships and a Division II state semifinal in 2014 – to date the only one for the program.
Solis came to central Ohio after going 101-50 in 14 seasons at Ashland Crestview (1999-2003), Elyria (2004-06), Twinsburg (2007-10) and Lorain (2011-12).
At Davidson, Solis initially was defensive coordinator before switching to offensive coordinator.
“He is a proven leader who understands how to build and sustain excellence,” New Albany athletic director Richie Wildenhaus said in a statement announcing the hire. “Coach Solis brings experience, energy, and a clear vision for our program.”
Solis has plenty of familiarity with New Albany as an opponent.
Olentangy and New Albany both were powers in the OCC-Capital in Solis’ first three years with the Braves, and they met when both teams were 6-0 to start the 2013 season.
Davidson and New Albany also met in a Division I, Region 3 quarterfinal in 2022, which the Eagles won 38-7.
High school sports reporter Dave Purpura can be reached at dpurpura@dispatch.com and at @dp_dispatch on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Veteran Ohio high school football coach Mark Solis to lead New Albany
Reporting by Dave Purpura, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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