Ohio State wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator Zach Smith was fired on Monday, three days after he was the subject of a civil protection order filed by his ex-wife Courtney Smith.
According to Brett McMurphy, the protection order and a subsequent criminal trespassing charge were filed after the former Buckeyes assistant dropped their son off at his ex-wife's house, and not a pre-determined public place -- a violation of another criminal trespass charge. Multiple domestic violence and battery charges in Smith's past led to the need for Zach Smith to meet Courtney Smith in public.
McMurphy reports that Smith has two domestic violence incidents on his record that led to the couple's split in 2016. In 2009 while a member of Urban Meyer's staff at Florida, Zach Smith was arrested for aggravated battery of Courtney Smith, who was 8-10 weeks pregnant, on the couple's one-year wedding anniversary. No charges were filed in that incident.
In October 2015 while on Meyer's staff at Ohio State, Zach Smith was arrested for felonious assault and domestic violence against Courtney Smith. The 2015 case remains open.
Ohio State announced Monday that no replacement for Smith has been named, and any coaching staff adjustments will be announced at a later date.
Smith -- a 2007 graduate of Florida -- spent 11 total seasons on Meyer's staff at Florida and Ohio State. He served as the wide receivers coach since Meyer's arrival in Columbus in 2012, and added the title of recruiting coordinator before the 2015 season. From 2005-09 at Florida, Smith served as a graduate assistant and quality control assistant.
Meyer is slated to speak to the media Tuesday morning at Big Ten Media Days.
