Meyer’s reputation takes a beating over lies about assistant Smith
He hasn’t been shamed — his monotone performance at a news conference Wednesday night shows some defiance — but Meyer has been embarrassed. His reputation has been soiled. His legacy is in question. Time heals all heels, so a few wins over Michigan will make everyone feel better, but even Buckeye die-hards have to feel queasy about their football coach today.
Ohio State handed football coach Urban Meyer a three-game suspension for his actions in the Zach Smith scandal.
It’s not terribly clear exactly what Ohio State officials found so wrong in Meyer’s handling of the case.
I mean, we know the truth. Ohio State is angry and/or disappointed that Meyer kept employing Smith as a Buckeye assistant coach, even after a variety of unscrupulous actions, not all of them related to domestic violence allegations. One thing that came to light Wednesday night in the release of the investigation into Meyer’s actions was that Smith was habitually late to or didn’t show up for appointments, many of them on the recruiting trail.
If Meyer felt so embedded into Smith that he was willing to let recruiting be affected, you know this was an unhealthy relationship for all concerned.
But that’s not exactly what chief investigator Mary Jo White or even university President Michael Drake said. In fact, they sort of covered for Meyer. Drake said Meyer was “not complete or accurate” in answering questions about Smith at Big Ten Media Days. White said the investigation committee members believe that Meyer “did not deliberately lie.”
Oh my heavens. “Not complete or accurate” is whitewashing for “lied.” And the idea that Meyer didn’t deliberately lie at Big Ten Media Days is downright silly. Of course he lied. Of course he knew he was lying.
But with all that said, Ohio State still landed somewhere on Planet Right. The three-game suspension is no small penalty. The Buckeyes will be without Meyer until Sept. 2, and he can’t be with the team for games on Sept. 9 and Sept. 16. Only one of those games is against a team capable of standing up to the Buckeyes — TCU in Arlington, Texas, on Sept. 16; Oregon State and Rutgers, Ohio State’s first two foes, are among the weakest teams in the Power 5 conferences — but still. No small penalty.
For worse or worse, football is an oversized monster on most college campuses, and that’s even moreso at Ohio State. Ohio State is like Oklahoma and Alabama, in terms of success and tradition and commitment, except think about the Sooners or Crimson Tide being in a state three times bigger, but without a peer institution. Ohio has no Stillwater or Auburn. While OU and Oklahoma State share the academic and athletic spotlight in our state, Ohio State stands alone in its state.
So removing an ultrasuccessful coach is serious business at Ohio State. Odds were always long that Ohio State would fire Meyer over Zach Smith. The Buckeyes have shed an iconic coach before because of scandal — Woody Hayes for slugging an opponent during the 1978 Gator Bowl; Jim Tressel for failing to notify the school of NCAA violations involving players. Tressel was at first suspended for two games but later stepped down when NCAA investigators got more involved.
Cynics would say that Meyer kept his job because Zach Smith isn’t likely to spark an NCAA violations that could impact the football program’s standing on the field. And they could be right.
But three games remains a hefty punishment. He hasn’t been shamed — his monotone performance at a news conference Wednesday night shows some defiance — but Meyer has been embarrassed. His reputation has been soiled. His legacy is in question. Time heals all heels, so a few wins over Michigan will make everyone feel better, but even Buckeye die-hards have to feel queasy about their football coach today.
They know that from now on, when Meyer speaks, only blind loyalty will allow them to believe everything that is said.
Coaches lie all the time. Most of the time it’s about injuries or strategy or how wellcoached the opponent is. We’ve come to accept their lies as part of doing business in the sport. And in the end, it’s all just football, so who really cares?
But Meyer lied about things beyond the gridiron. Things that matter. Things that are life-defining. All that nonsense about mentoring young men has been shoveled into the pile of decaying windsong.
Meyer is a fraud. Lots of football coaches are. But now we know for sure about Meyer. That’s a stiffer penalty than a three-game suspension.