HEADLINE

Ohio State AD: Meyer to be coach ‘for quite some time’

The Sports Xchange

September 23, 2018 at 12:29 pm.

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith defended Urban Meyer on Sunday on the heels of a report that said the school was in discussions with offensive coordinator Ryan Day to make him the Buckeyes’ head coach-in-waiting.

“We obviously are appreciative of Coach Day’s great work, and hope he continues to be one of our offensive coordinators for a long time, but we are more than confident Coach Meyer will be our head coach for quite some time. Thank you,” Smith tweeted on Sunday.

Taken a step further, Smith texted ESPN.com’s Heather Dinich and wrote the following, per the network:

“Urban will be our head coach for quite a while.”

Ari Wasserman of The Athletic reported that Ohio State is considering tabbing Day as its head coach-in-waiting.

Day, 39, served as the Buckeyes’ interim head coach for the first three games of the season as Meyer served a suspension handed down from the university. The latter’s ban stemmed from his handling of the employment and domestic assault allegations dealing with former wide receivers coach Zach Smith.

Zach Smith was fired as the Buckeyes’ wide receivers coach in July after a pre-trial hearing on a charge of criminal trespassing and a report detailing domestic violence allegations from his then-wife, Courtney Smith, in 2009 and 2015. Zach Smith was arrested in the 2009 incident.

Day led the Buckeyes to a 3-0 record, as the team rolled up 169 points in wins over Oregon State, Rutgers and TCU.

After his first season in Columbus, Ohio State promoted Day to offensive coordinator, signed him a three-year contract and made him the school’s first $1 million assistant.

Meyer thanked Day for his efforts in his postgame news conference after the Buckeyes’ 49-6 win against Tulane.

“We presented (Day) with the game ball afterwards,” Meyer said. “(Going) 3-0, that’s a pretty good record. I’m not sure the exact winning percentage that is, but it’s pretty high. He’s done a great job.”