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Ohio University has fired head coach Brian Smith weeks after placing him on leave without explanation.
Smith was in his first season as head coach of the Bobcats, who went 8–4 this fall and will head to the Frisco Bowl next week.
On Dec. 1, Ohio put Smith on leave “for an undetermined period of time.” The move came on the same day as a key deadline in Smith’s contract. The school would have owed Smith $2,511,250 if it had fired him without cause before Dec. 1, but would get that money back from Smith or another university if he left after Dec. 1. Smith was supposed to make about $850,000 this season.
On Wednesday, Ohio announced it was firing Smith for cause. “The termination follows an administrative review of allegations that Smith violated the terms of his employment agreement by engaging in serious professional misconduct and participating in activities that reflect unfavorably on the University,” read the school’s announcement.
“We vigorously dispute Ohio University’s grounds for the termination for cause of Coach Brian Smith,” his lawyer, Rex Elliott, said in a statement. “He is shocked and dismayed by this turn of events, and we plan to fight this wrongful termination to protect his good name. Coach Smith is an ethical man who has done an exemplary job for the University. He wants nothing but the best for the players, coaches, and the entire Bobcat community.”
The university said its search for a full-time coach would begin immediately. Former defensive coordinator John Hauser is serving as interim head coach.
Ohio’s statement about serious misconduct and activities reflecting unfavorably on the school is the most insight the university has given into Smith’s situation. Yet Ohio still hasn’t said what Smith did to prompt his firing.
The former coach’s attorney told the school’s public TV and radio station, WOUB, on Dec. 4 that the coach still didn’t have a formal reason why he was placed on leave. Student media criticized the school for its lack of transparency that led to widespread speculation.
The attorney for Smith’s ex-wife said in a divorce filing on Dec. 3 that “nothing [she] has alleged is the cause of [Smith’s] current situation at Ohio University,” however, she “does not know what the specific issues are.”
The Athens Police Department and Ohio University police both told Front Office Sports earlier this month that they do not have records about Smith.
