At the end of this football season, Urban Meyer — who was suspended for three games at the start of the year for mishandling domestic violence allegations against his former assistant coach, Zach Smith, and lying about it — will retire as the head coach of Ohio State University.
He will not, however, retire from his job as a molder of young men.
On Thursday, Meyer told 10TV’s Dom Tiberi that he plans to co-teach a course on character and leadership at Ohio State’s Fisher College of Business next fall.
Yes, you read that right. Months after Ohio State released a 23-page report that detailed the ways in which Meyer failed to take allegations of domestic violence seriously and lied about them to his employer (Ohio State itself) and reporters, Meyer is going to be teaching men how to be great leaders with strong character. What could possibly go wrong?
And, heaven forbid he should step away entirely from the football program, the retiree-to-be said he will still be involved with the team, albeit in a still-undefined role. He plans to continue to work with Athletics Director Gene Smith, who was also suspended for two weeks for enabling domestic violence this fall.
Of course, none of this should be a surprise. Meyer’s leadership skills and character have been in dispute for years, long before he first stepped foot on OSU’s campus, and yet, because he kept coaching football teams to victories, his reputation and employability have remained firmly intact.
From 2005-2010, Meyer was the head coach at the University of Florida when the team was known for its toxic culture and enabling of bad off-the-field behavior as much as it was for its on-the-field success. This was also where Meyer first employed Smith, and became aware that Smith’s now ex-wife, Courtney Smith, accused him of physically abusing her while she was pregnant with their child. Meyer brushed off these allegations.
In 2010, Meyer cited health reasons when he stepped down at Florida. Yet he was quickly hired by Ohio State, and he soon added Smith back onto his coaching staff. In 2015, Courtney once again accused her husband of domestic violence, and the police investigated. Meyer knew about this ongoing investigation. He also knew about Smith’s incessant tardiness, his habit of going to strip clubs on recruiting visits, and his drug problems. And yet, Meyer hid many of these things from Ohio State administrators, and, when asked about them in 2015, lied about his prior knowledge of these things.
All of this was detailed in Ohio State’s report based on its own investigation into Meyer’s behavior. It’s unclear whether that report will appear on the syllabus for his class on character and leadership, but if he ever gets a gig teaching crisis management, it will be required reading. Because, even after detailing all the ways in which Meyer enabled domestic violence and lied about it, the report concluded that he should be applauded for his respect for women.
“Overall, Coach Meyer impressed us with a sincere commitment to the Respect for Women core value that he espouses and tries to instill in his players,” the report concluded.
Perhaps, as with the report, Professor Meyer’s class will be graded on a curve.