Ohio State fires receivers coach after domestic charge
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State has fired receivers coach Zach Smith, who was charged last week with misdemeanor criminal trespass after a dispute with his ex-wife.
Coach Urban Meyer announced Smith’s dismissal in a two-sentence statement on Monday.
The move came after multiple media outlets reported that Smith’s ex-wife has filed for a protective order against him. The Columbus Dispatch reported that Courtney Smith wrote in a sworn document that her ex-husband has stalked and intimidated her.
Domestic violence civil order filed against Ohio State WR coach Zach Smith by his ex-wife, police told me. In 2009 when at Florida, Smith arrested for aggravated battery on his pregnant wife. Smith has been on Urban Meyer’s staff for 11 seasons at UF & OSU https://t.co/fcxi8GsWQ8
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) July 23, 2018
At the time of the trespass charge, Zach Smith’s attorney said Smith’s ex-wife accused him of driving to her apartment after she told him they would meet elsewhere so he could drop off their son.
Meyer was scheduled to speak to reporters at Big Ten Media Days on Tuesday. According to his statement, “coaching staff adjustments will be announced at a later date.”
Smith is the grandson of former Ohio State coach Earle Bruce. He had been on the Buckeyes’ staff since Meyer arrived in 2012, and he previously worked as a graduate assistant under Meyer at Florida.