Are Urban Meyer’s assistant coaches ready to throw Ohio State head coach overboard?
Did Urban Meyer know that Zack Smith was still abusing his wife after 2009? That’s why he was put on paid administrative leave after Courtney Smith said several close to the Buckeyes head coach knew of a domestic violence incident in 2015.
Chris Landry, the owner and operator of LandryFootball.com told me on NBC Sports Radio on Wednesday when the story broke, “I’ve spoken to coaches on the staff there, it was common knowledge of this situation.” Listen at the 10:15 mark.
A veteran scout, coach, consultant and administrator in college and the NFL, Chris Landry says Meyer knew about Smith's alleged domestic violence because his assistant coaches TOLD him, “The reality is some them are talking quietly. They’re not gonna say it publicly but I know what they were getting at and what they were trying to tell me,” Landry said.
Landry revealed, “I reached out to some (Buckeyes) assistants yesterday…they were very eager to express to me that they knew about it. They knew about it in most cases from their wives. Learned about it and confronted Urban about it.” Landry says he was told one Buckeye assistant that was so disgusted by Smith he threatened to “kick his ass over what was going between he and his wife.”
Meyer is on paid administrative leave while Ohio State investigates what he knew about Smith’s behavior.
“Are coaches trying to separate themselves from already?” Landry pondered.
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In his podcast Landry tried to answer some questions the public might have for Ohio State’s assistant coaches saying, “Why didn’t they go to the police? Why didn’t they stand up? That causes a problem too for coaches. That causes a, ‘he went around the head coach, he was disloyal’ and that becomes difficult too. It’s tough for these coaches.”
Football coaches almost always stick together. The "staff" is supposed to be a unit. A family. There is no doubt assistant coaches and other staff will have to talk with OSU athletic director Gene Smith and reveal what they did or did not know about Smith.
Landry also explained the burden of what some Buckeye staffers were facing with Smith who was the Ohio State wide receivers coach from 2012 until July 2018. “It’s tough for someone under Urban Meyer who doesn’t feel like he can survive in the coaching world if he goes around Urban Meyer and reports something that he feels should be handled legally because it would constitute him being disloyal. It’s a tough business. It’s tough to get in it and it is a lot about who you know and good recommendations.”
Landry doesn’t believe Meyer will be coaching at Ohio State much longer.
The third ranked Buckeyes face #16 TCU Sept. 15 in Arlington.
