Ohio University suspended its football coach for… some reason.
The school has yet to elaborate on its suspension for first-year skipper Brian Smith, who was mysteriously placed on paid leave for an “undetermined period of time” on Dec. 1.
The program’s prolonged silence has drawn widespread speculation and criticism from the student body, even prompting a scathing letter from the editor of the campus paper.
Ohio football coach Brian Smith Getty Images
“This silence is not neutral,” wrote editor Abby Waechter on Dec. 8, “it’s reckless.”
Smith, who coached the Bobcats to an 8–4 record to punch a ticket to the Frisco Bowl against UNLV on Dec. 23, was asked to leave in the middle of the work day without any context or reasoning, his attorney told public TV and radio station, WOUB, on Dec. 2.
His attorney denied any wrongdoing, stressing that no allegations or charges had been made against the coach.
Smith, 45, was a Bobcats assistant for three seasons and took reins last December after incumbent coach Tim Albin left for Charlotte.
His contract wasn’t finalized until October, one day after USA Today reported that he was working without one — strange, but not necessarily “unheard of,” according to Front Office Sports.
Smith’s salary for the season hovered around $850,000, according to USA Today, and his contract lists Dec. 1 as a pivotal deadline for his whopping $2.5 million buyout.
Ohio State coach Brian Smith watches a replay with a referee during the Bobcats’ game against Ohio State on Sept. 13. Getty Images
Firing Smith without cause before the cutoff would have forced Ohio to cough up the entire base salary on his deal, equal to $2,511,250, according to FOS.
If Smith opted to leave after the deadline, he or his new employer would have had to pay that amount back to the school.
“The timing suggests that Ohio could be trying to avoid paying a full buyout,” according to FOS. “And, by placing Smith on paid leave without firing him, the university could be trying to avoid a wrongful termination lawsuit.”
Meanwhile, Smith is going through a divorce, which was finalized on Tuesday.
But a Dec. 3 filing by his ex-wife’s attorney suggests that his enigmatic suspension had nothing to do with the personal matter.
“Nothing [Smith’s ex-wife] has alleged is the cause of [Smith’s] current situation at Ohio University,” reads the court document, adding that his ex-wife “does not know what the specific issues are.”
The Athens Police Department has yet to receive additional information or reports of any potential wrongdoing from Smith, it told FOS.
In the meantime, the Bobcats elevated defensive coordinator John Hauser to interim head coach.