Zach Smith's contract was renewed twice since 2015
Still my biggest question remains just this. Why wasn't he fired in 2015? And how in the hell does Smith go on ESPN yesterday and say he never physically abused his wife, even though those pics are out? He didn't even answer the question coherently. I don't know who was doing that interview yesterday, but he did a shit job of it when he failed to press him on those pics of his wife all jacked up.
I remain firmly in the camp that there is no effin way Urb comes back. All of the posturing going on now is buyout related.
In response to your first paragraph, you are 100% right. In response to your second paragraph, man I hope you are right.
Exactly. Now that Urbs has admitted knowing about the 2015 incident (on top of the 2009 incident in FL), how does he justify re-hiring Smith?
Urban's defenders will say Smith wasn't charged, but that's an awfully low bar to set. Urban knew what was going on and chose to look the other way. No reasonable person could conclude otherwise.
And how in the hell does Smith go on ESPN yesterday and say he never physically abused his wife, even though those pics are out?
That's how abusers typically sound in these interviews. They generally give a bunch of rambling nonsense and self-contradictory statements.
"I never would touch my lady."
"I mean, those marks on her neck came when I was falling down and grabbing for help."
"I mean, I hit her but it was in self-defense."
"I mean, she was yelling at me all night."
"You know, this is all between a man and his wife and not the media's business."
His response was 100% victim blaming with the spin of she was the reason she was bruised up. I’m sure an expert could look at those photos and tell if those were gotten in a quote “restraining” type way. Plus McMurphy says he also has text of him saying how he was going to do harm to the new guy in her life. Yet she’s the aggressive one in the relationship?
The spin I've seen is to claim she was a crazy alcoholic, as volatile as he was. I guess that's possible but you'd have to prove that one pretty clearly in the face of the evidence that's already out there which shows that he was the vicious one.
She could possibly be a crazy alcoholic herself, but that doesn't mean it's ok to beat the shit out of her
Actually, I am 85% sure the criminal code does grant privileges of "merciless beatings" if you can prove the woman is a "batshit crazy drunk."
and a 94% chance that stalking and threats are a-ok, too, at least in the eyes of ohio fans.
The spin isn't just nasty, but nonsensical. I guess they don't believe Courtney, nor Urban Meyer's wife?
I'd like to hear Shelley Meyer explain why she was so scared of Zach.
Dude, people said the same thing about Dantonio earlier this year (“no way he’s back”). How did that turn out?
In the 24 hour news cycle era, all you have to do is ride it out and soon a new controversy for people to get outraged about will emerge.
Usually in cover-ups like this, whether for a player or coach, the conclusion is that the head coach "put winning above ethics."
What is different this time is Zach Smith had nothing to do with winning. Meyer brought him aboard and kept him in two majorly successful programs. He could have had any WR coach in the country. He could have stashed an ace recruiter there. Instead, he clung to this turd? Because he was the grandson of a mediocre Buckeye coach who was fired 30 years ago? I can't believe anyone is buying this.
And now, Zach Smith goes on ESPN, stuttering and sweating, at risk of damaging his own reputation further, in order to defend Urban, and incriminate Gene Smith instead?
I am afraid that pundits are going to settle for moralizing about "putting winning first" and "hubris" all the way up to sentimental crap about "misguided loyalty."
No. None of this explains why this mediocre non-entity had so much leverage over one of the most powerful coaches of all time.
It really is weird. It seems that Meyer and Zach Smith must have coordinated going public yesterday. And they both effectively threw Gene Smith under the bus.
Do Meyer/Smith have some shady text conversations out there too?
Yes I agree it was coordinated. Those two probably have an endless amount of dirt on each other, and have co-existed in a sort of stalemate for the past 3+ years. With Urban's buyout at stake and Zach's legal problems, I'm sure there is all kinds of angling going on right now.
This is really the strangest part of this whole thing to me.This guy was just a pain in the ass and a “hanger on”. I’d never heard of him until this but most are saying he was a terrible coach and wasn’t a great recruiter. It would be almost unbelievable if keeping this bum around that offered almost only negatives to the program ends up taking down the second most powerful coach in the country. It really is crazy to think about.
Which is why I think there is *WAY* more to the story of why Urban kept him.
*Maybe* the grandson-of-Earle-Bruce thing explains why Smith got a job in the first place. But nine police reports spanning two hugely successful programs, and he was a crappy coach anyway -- and Urban's wife was "scared of him" three years ago? There are tons of maggots burrowing under this rock...
Also, I don't remember where I saw this but apparently, Meyer was trying to find Smith a soft landing spot this offseason, but found no takers. Finally he fired him.
Dude must be Urb’s bagman.
Until he got fired, Smith was touted as one of their top recruiters. He was also their recruiting coordinator. A lot of spin coming out now.
Top recruiters or "top recruiters"?
I thought the take on him was that he was a good recruiter but terrible coach.
I too am suspicious of why Meyer kept Zach Smith around and I don't really buy the Earle Bruce loyalty story. That statement alone tells us that Smith was not employed at OSU based on his qualifications as a coach. When Courtney Smith says that Zach told her if they ever fire him he could bring down the entire OSU program it makes you wonder. A lot of smoke here.
It certainly goes back at least to UF. There are so many incidents and rumors from Urban’s time in Gainesville that surely they share some stench from UF.
One positive is that Smith should be finished in coaching after that interview. Hopefully.
I think Smith knew about Urban's affairs at Florida. I'm sure being the grandson of Bruce got him the job but you don't keep a toxic guy like this around (especially since everyone seems to think he isn't even a good coach) unless he has something on you
The more time elapses between Urban's Twitter statement and any press release from Drake, the more his buy-out shrinks.
The facts don't seem to be on Ohio State nor Urban Meyer's side...
So, not only did he willingly keep a known abuser on staff in spite of the knowledge, but he also gave this man raises? The facts do not side with Urban Meyer, any yet, as of this moment, he's still at Ohio State.
The amount of victim blaming going on by OSU fans right now really shows how fucking pathetic and despicable those people really are.
Meyer still isn’t getting fired.
If this happened to John Cooper, then sure. But Meyer wins. He’ll find a way to survive this.
Fine. Let the school sell its soul -- what's left of it, anyway.
That way, when they lose, they'll have absolutely nothing left.
Zach Smith knows where all the money is and goes and coordinates it all. Unfortunately he also beats his wife which puts the media glare on OSU after the fact thanks to good reporting. I would bet a nickel you will see some kind of ripple effect in recruiting depending on how this all shakes out.
and if you haven't looked in the diary section today, you have got to look at the data compilation that arb lover put together. it is a really sharp and detailed statistical comparison b/w us and ohio in terms of misbehavior. do yourself a favor and click on that link. great work.