Solich grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and graduated from Holy Name High School in 1962, where he earned all-state, All-America, and all-scholastic honors.
He was a part of Bob Devaney’s first recruiting class at Nebraska, and became a standout for the Huskers in the mid-1960s, where he earned the nickname "Fearless Frankie".
An All-Big Eight fullback and co-captain of the Huskers’ 1965 team, his playing career earned him induction into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 1992.
He began his career in the Nebraska prep ranks, as head coach at Omaha Holy Name High School in 1966 and 1967.
Solich then moved to Lincoln Southeast for 11 years, where he compiled a record of 66–33–5 while capturing consecutive Class A state titles in 1976 and 1977.
He was the position coach for many of Nebraska's standout running backs of the 1980s and 1990s, including Tom Rathman, Calvin Jones, Ahman Green, and Lawrence Phillips.
He also utilized such plays as the Black 41 Flash Reverse Pass which became a highlight of Eric Crouch's Heisman Trophy-winning season in 2001.
The Huskers slumped to 7–7 in 2002, a year in which they fell out of the rankings for the first time since 1981; their 348 consecutive weeks in the AP Poll is still the longest in college football history.
2003 began with Nebraska starting out 5–0, but suffered three key losses later in the year: 41–24 to Missouri, 31–7 to Texas and 38–9 to Kansas State.
He arrived when renovation plans for the Ohio football facilities, which had begun eight years earlier (prior to 2004, the program was furnished with new coaches office, practice fields, a new 10,000 square-foot strength and conditioning center, enhancement to the team locker room, revitalization of Peden Stadium including installation of a state-of-the-art FieldTurf playing surface, improved and expanded seating complete with a popular concert-style berm at the south end zone) were nearly complete.
Solich's first home game as coach of the Bobcats was a memorable one, as Peden Stadium brought in its largest crowd ever.
However, in 2006, Solich led the Bobcats to a 9–5 record including a MAC East Division title and a GMAC Bowl invitation.
[4] In 2009, Solich led the Bobcats to a 9–5 overall mark with another MAC East championship and an appearance in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.
In 2005, police in Athens, Ohio found Solich passed out behind the wheel of his car, facing the wrong direction on a one-way street.