Ohio State announced Monday evening that wide receivers coach Zach Smith has been fired.
The department of athletics issued a statement reading, “Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer has announced the termination of wide receiver’s coach Zach Smith. Coaching staff adjustments will be announced at a later date.”
Earlier in the day, news broke that Smith’s ex-wife had filed for a protection order against him.
That led to a series of revelations about past allegations of domestic violence against Smith.
First, Brett McMurphy reported on one case from 2009 in which Smith was arrested for aggravated battery on a pregnant woman after an incident with his then-wife in their Florida home.
Smith’s wife, Courtney, declined to press charges and the case was dismissed.
Later in the day, McMurphy reported on another incident from 2015 in which Smith was investigated for felony counts of domestic violence and felonious assault against his wife. If you are also facing physical assault charges, it is advised to hire a Galveston assault defense attorney to help build your defense strategy.
That case remains open.
Smith is the grandson of former OSU head coach Earle Bruce.
He came to Ohio State as wide receivers coach when Meyer took the job following the 2011 season, and remained in that position for the next six years.
Meyer is scheduled to speak at Big Ten Media Days on Tuesday in Chicago, and will likely address the situation further at that time.
If Zach Smith really did put his hands on a woman and there was concrete evidence of abuse, I would not support him in any regard and he should have been terminated. However, I have read all the reports online and in the papers, and the information about what possibly went on with Zach and his former spouse. ~ It seems pretty vague about what really happened in 2009 and 2015. Brett McMurphy was bringing up situations in 2009 and 2015 in which cases were dropped and no criminal actions were brought against Smith. Did anyone, including Brett McMurphy, actually see a police report? Do we know if Zach punched her, slapped her, or beat her? Did she come at him with a butcher knife and he restrained her? Nobody really knows! This situation was brought up because he violated a restraining order by bringing one or two of his children back to his former wife’s residence. She didn’t meet him at the designated place, so he took the children to the driveway of her home (apartment). Tell me what parent would not have done that if the other spouse didn’t show (his wife) to the pick up point for the children? Am I to believe that he was just going to let his young children off with the other spouse not being there? Do we know if they communicated that night in the driveway? What was really said? If she really wanted to take criminal action for his abuse, why didn’t she do it in 2009 or 2015? I guess she did… but no criminal action was filed or pursued besides a restraining order. Seems to me that this is could be a custody battle as well as a child support issue. I just remember our linebacker, Storm Klein, a couple of years ago. He was dismissed from the team, only to find out there was more to the story. Everybody has friends who have either, or currently, have gone through custody battles and child support issues. Folks…if you want to get someone, you can make their life miserable.( Aka Betty Broderick) According to his attorney, the local police knows what really happened in the course of a few years with the Smiths. Really? What has been happening the last few years? Why are most of us finding out about it now? I’ll tell you why…because (one) its almost the start of the season, and (two) he didn’t take the children to the right spot. They seems to be a set-up. As a coach myself, I would have fired him in 2009 or in 2015, if he hit a woman. No excuses! However, 3-9 years later?? I would really like to hear all sides of the story, including Zach Smith’s side. This is why we have a justice system and courts, not courts of opinion. Again…I would have fired him in 2009 or 2015. However, let’s be honest. …it is not about the abuse(they are no longer together), it is about the custody of the Smith children. Come on, read through the lines. By the way, Brett McMurphy should be terminated from his job right away for not reporting on all the evidence. Do the right thing ESPN.
Wasn’t a fan of Smith the coach, but I wish that it wasn’t due to something like this. I hope the women he’s harmed (allegedly) find healing and so does Zach. I think either Cris Carter or Brian Hartline would be good choices, Michael Jenkins wouldn’t be a bad one either.
Great post.
Well said Andrew.
Very unfortunate. No winners here. I feel very badly.
Needed to be done, guy had a lot of chances. Ne OSU fans must hope the damage to recruiting is kept to a minimum.
Sorry for the repeats, folks. Ghosts in the computer I suppose.
Unfortunate for everyone involved and I will not comment on it as I only know the little I read. I was just thinking out loud about a replacement. I do not know if he would take it if offered, but I was surprised it paid $ 350K a year, Chris Carter would be an excellent choice for receivers and recruiting. Chris has been through a lot and had a hall of fame career and coached up Randy Moss which is no easy task. Easy to tell Chris still loves OSU and football and could lead to bigger and better coaching jobs for him in the future.
No chance “Cris” Carter takes the WR coaching gig. If you didn’t know, he has a daily sports TV show on Fox Sports 1… he is likely being paid more than $350k and can do TV for 20 more years.
That said, I think I heard Brian Hartline is associated with the current OSU coaching staff. Give him the job. True Buckeye with NFL experience who would be a great pitch man.
Frankly speaking, with the way the current WRs have performed a new WR coach may actually be a very good thing.
Yep, you’re right Christopher. Unless Cris has had a major shift in life goals he’s not taking a pay cut to coach receivers in College. Brian Hartline you mentioned has been working with receivers since his return to Campus. He’s probably a top 5 or 6 route runner this century for the Buckeyes. He wants in coaching and this is a good year for him to get his feet wet. He knows the current group of wideouts, and they are an experienced group who should help him settle in.
Be a really good thing for the CEO to get him involved more.
I wouldn’t say there is no chance for Cris Carter to be a WR coach at OSU after this season. Urban is a very persuasive man and if there’s anyone that can get that done, it’s him. He got Schiano and Kevin Wilson to accept coordinator roles here. Also, Carter would more than likely not start out making south of 400k a year.
What I think Urban is going to do is promote Hartline to an interim assistant role here to coach the receivers. After the season is over, they will evaluate him and look for anyone else they can bring in, especially for recruiting purposes. Urban would be wise to talk with Cris, who has a strong presence in Florida, specifically St. Thomas Aquainas.
Cris Carter is not leaving a literal dream job to come back and be an assistant coach. His current job offers prestige, fame, and most importantly a platform where he can be the center of attention and listen to himself talk (which I think he enjoys more than anything else). No chance.
Logan. I really don’t believe that Gene Smith would ever agree to pay a position coach anywhere near the 7 figures it would take for Urban Meyer to talk Cris into leaving a lucrative and free wheeling contract with FS1. As much as I loved watching Cris play the game, he’s just not fitted with the character base to teach young guys. Then again, Urban Meyer might not really care. He hired Zach Smith at Florida and kept him after his legal issues there. Cris just isn’t the slightest big squeamish about “playing in the rough.” Cris has ALWAYS been loose with his rhetoric and the rules be damned. How involved would Cris be with trying to enforce a sound academic demand on his players? The potential for disaster hiring him outweighs the benefits. But, it WAS fun watching him play ball. Most natural and gifted pass catcher I’ve ever seen who isn’t named Jerry Rice.