Meyer to be OSU asst. AD when done as coach
Urban Meyer will become an assistant athletic director at Ohio State after he retires as coach, athletic director Gene Smith told the Columbus Dispatch on Saturday.
Smith declined to provide any more details about Meyer’s move.
Urban Meyer will co-teach a class in leadership and character at Ohio State’s business school after retiring as football coach. Meyer is also expected to play a role in assisting athletic director Gene Smith at the school.
Meyer, 54, announced earlier this month that he would retire from coaching after the Buckeyes play Washington in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. He will be succeeded by Ryan Day, who served as the team’s interim coach while Meyer served a three-game suspension to start the 2018 season.
At the time of his retirement announcement, Meyer said “I believe I will not coach again.” He as well as Smith said he hoped to remain at Ohio State in some capacity, and on Thursday announced he would co-teach a course titled “Leadership and Character” in Ohio State’s Fisher College of Business. Meyer will teach alongside Lt. Col. Charles Buchanan, a senior lecturer at the business school who also spent 15 years in the U.S. military, serving tours in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo.
Meyer has spent the past seven seasons at Ohio State, going 82-9 with a national championship, three Big Ten championships, seven division titles and a 7-0 record against archrival Michigan. His retirement announcement ended a tumultuous 2018 season that began with a suspension for failure to live up to the standards of the university in his handling of abuse allegations against former assistant coach Zach Smith.
Information from ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg was used in this report.