Ohio University head football coach Brian Smith was abruptly placed on administrative leave earlier this month — and he still has no idea why.
Smith, 45, was informed of the university’s decision on December 1, the same day the athletic department announced he was placed on leave “for an undetermined period of time.”
No reason was given for the school’s decision.
Smith’s attorney told WOUB on December 2 that Smith was asked to leave in the middle of the workday.
The attorney claimed Smith was not given any information about why he was placed on leave, and insisted that no allegations or changes have been brought against the coach.
Despite that, WOUB reported that Smith will “deny all wrongdoing and will fight any allegations brought against him.”
Smith was also going through a divorce at the time of the school’s decision, but documents obtained by WOUB indicated his personal life was not connected to him being placed on leave.
“Nothing Plaintiff has alleged is the cause of [Smith’s] current situation at Ohio university, where he has been placed on interim leave,” the divorce filing read.
Smith and his ex-wife finalized their divorce on Tuesday, December 9, according to court filings.
After working without a real contract in place for much of the year, Smith was set to make $850,000 for this past season, per documents obtained by USA Today in October.
According to Front Office Sports, the circumstances surrounding the university’s decision could be construed as curious given Smith’s current contract situation.
“If the school had fired Smith without cause before Dec. 1, it would’ve owed him the entire base salary left on his deal, equal to $2,511,250,” Front Office Sports’ Margaret Fleming reported on Tuesday, December 9. “Starting Dec. 1, if Smith decided to leave, he or his new employer would’ve owed that amount back to the university.”
Fleming continued, “The timing suggests that Ohio could be trying to avoid paying a full buyout. And, by placing Smith on paid leave without firing him, the university could be trying to avoid a wrongful termination lawsuit.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Ohio University for comment.
Whatever the circumstances, the school’s secrecy surrounding Smith has drawn widespread criticism, including from the Ohio University student newspaper.
“With no answers from the university, people are jumping to conclusions,” The Post’s Abby Waechter wrote in a letter from the editor on Monday, December 8. “Divorce documents are being pulled, police records are being requested and rumors on Reddit are being treated like leads — not because journalists want to speculate, but because OU has created a vacuum where speculation thrives.”
Waechter added, “In the vacuum created by OU’s silence, deeply personal claims have circulated about Smith and his family. This isn’t accountability. It’s the predictable consequence of institutional stonewalling, and it has drawn private individuals, including members of Smith’s family, into a public crisis they didn’t create.”
Smith was coming off an 8-4 season with the Bobcats in his first year as head coach. Defensive coordinator John Hauser was named interim head coach on December 1.
Ohio is set to play UNLV in the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl on December 23.
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