Ohio State football must move past Urban Meyer, Gene Smith

Ohio State football fans are probably tired of hearing this, but it’s time for the program to move past head coach Urban Meyer and athletic director Gene Smith.

It seemed for a while that Urban Meyer had put aside his win-at-all-costs attitude when he accepted the job as the Ohio State football coach. Meyer stepped away from the firestorm he helped create in Gainesville, Florida and wanted to focus on his family and relationships. He knew he could do that and still fulfill his dream of coaching at Ohio State.

The kinder, gentler and more engaged Urban Meyer – who I learned much about from an interview with his life coach, Todd Gongwer - was refreshing to see. Meyer seemed to put the welfare of his players first, and while winning was the ultimate goal, the cutthroat methods which seemed to be his calling card at Florida were a thing of the past.

Everyone believed Urban Meyer had turned the corner and become what so many college football coaches aspire to be – a championship coach with integrity.

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Or so we thought.

Now the possibility exists that Urban Meyer covered up for a serial domestic-abuser for years, and could possibly have his school facing Title IX violations due to his lack of action, as well as that of his wife, Shelley, who works as a registered nurse and as an instructor of Clinical Practice at the Ohio State University College of Nursing.

Because of the nature of Shelley’s employment with Ohio State, she is bound by Title IX rules.

The revelations brought forth by Brett McMurphy’s report were beyond stunning. They were sickening. Former Ohio State assistant coach Zach Smith – who was fired on June 24 – was accused multiple times of physically abusing his wife Courtney, and if the photo evidence in Courtney Smith’s text messages corroborates these claims he absolutely should be prosecuted.

What wasn’t known at the time of Smith’s firing is how much Urban Meyer knew. The first red flag appeared days after Smith was let go, when, per ESPN, Meyer called it a “very tough call”.

How is it a tough call to fire a guy who continues to beat up a woman? This wasn’t just some random coach Meyer had hired in the past couple of years. Zach Smith had been on Meyer’s staff at several coaching stops, as well as Meyer having a relationship with Smith’s grandfather and former Ohio State coach, Earle Bruce.

It’s not a tough call when you know the truth, and in the wise words of a colleague, “the head coach always knows”.

After Meyer’s recent statement and semi-confession, it’s now known that he did indeed mislead the media and the public when he denied any knowledge of the multiple domestic violence charges against his former assistant.

Meyer said in his statement:

"“I failed on many of these fronts. My intention was not to say anything inaccurate or misleading. However, I was not adequately prepared to discuss these sensitive personnel issues with the media, and I apologize for the way I handled those questions.”"

Herein lies the problem. The firing of Zach Smith had occurred less than a month before Big Ten Media Days, and Meyer says he was not “adequately prepared” to answer questions about that situation. How is a man who is known as one of the most-prepared and meticulous coaches in the history of college football not prepared to answer questions about a topic he very well knew would come into question?

You will never convince me that Urban Meyer had no idea questions about Zach Smith’s firing would be asked and that he hadn’t decided before Big Ten Media Days ever began that he was going to deny knowledge and attempt to sweep it under the rug.

Then the rug was pulled out from under him.

If Meyer knew and didn’t report it, he is complicit and guilty of enabling a serial abuser. If Meyer did report it, then possibly athletic director Gene Smith – who has had more than his share of legal and ethical run-ins – would become the focus of the investigation being conducted by the independent panel.

That brings us to where we sit now. Urban Meyer is on administrative leave, Gene Smith is probably investing in an industrial-strength paper shredder, the investigation is ongoing, and Ohio State finds themselves in what would appear to be a can’t-win situation.

Unless head coach Urban Meyer and athletic director Gene Smith do what needs to be done.

Resign. Retire. Whatever it takes to get away from Ohio State University. It’s the right thing to do, and it would send the message that not only Ohio State, but also these two men, are true to their words and really do care about the welfare and safety of women.

Neither man deserves to be associated with an institution of higher learning, and if they don’t make their own words of respecting women ring true by stepping down, then Ohio State must make the difficult decision to cut ties with them both.

It’s time to move on from men who openly deceive and cover for friends or colleagues who engage in violence against women. It’s time for Ohio State and its fans to move on from Urban Meyer and Gene Smith.