Ohio State’s Zach Smith has been relieved of his duties of wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator, the University announced late Monday.
Ohio State coach Urban Meyer announced Thursday Brian Hartline will serve as the Buckeye’s interim wide receivers coach.
The news of Smith’s firing comes after a domestic violence civil protection order was filed against Smith, according to a report Monday by College Football Insider Brett McMurphy.
In a lengthy post on Facebook, McMurphy reported the order, filed Friday by Smith’s ex-wife, detailed Smith’s alleged history of domestic violence.
The main assault the order alleged is from June 2009 when Smith, then a Florida assistant coach under Meyer, was arrested for aggravated battery of his ex-wife who was 8-10 weeks pregnant, according to the police report.
Smith’s ex-wife decided not to press charges at the time.
The order follows Smith’s arrest Wednesday for misdemeanor criminal trespassing for dropping off his son at his ex-wife’s residence, not at an agreed upon neutral location. Smith was arrested because he violated a trespass warning from December 2017, according to McMurphy.
Ohio State University released a statement Wednesday that acknowledged the situation with Smith, but did not provide any details on Smith’s future with the program until later in the day.
“We are not going to comment at this time on the situation regarding Zach Smith. This is a personnel matter and we don’t typically discuss such matters publicly. We are continuing to monitor,” the University’s earliest statement said.
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