Ohio State has placed Meyer on paid administrative leave while it investigates claims that his wife knew about allegations of abuse against an assistant coach... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this April 14, 2018, file photo, Ohio Setate coach Urban Meyer watches the NCAA college football team's spring game in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State has placed Meyer on paid administrative leave... (Associated Press) 
 
 Urban Meyer's Ohio State program has been one of the best in college football and for the most part has avoided major off-field issues and player behavior problems that tarnished his championship teams at Florida. We can’t have somebody like this coaching young men.’” 
 
 Courtney told the network Shelley Meyer never told her whether she talked to Urban Meyer. According to McMurphy, the text messages, an interview with Courtney Smith and other information prove Meyer knew about the allegations against Smith, the wide receivers coach who spent six seasons on Meyer’s staff and was fired on July 23. “She would reach out to me, ask me how I’m doing, tell me she was worried, if I needed anything she was there,” Courtney said. "I said: 'That's fine, you should tell Urban.'" Meyer is heading into his seventh season at Ohio State, where he is 73-8 with a national title in 2014 and two Big Ten Conference championships. Offensive coordinator Ryan Day will serve as acting head coach for the Buckeyes, expected to be one of the top teams in the nation again this season. In a statement Wednesday released by the university, Meyer said he and Athletic Director Gene Smith had agreed “that being on leave during this inquiry will facilitate its completion. "This allows the team to conduct training camp with minimal distraction. I eagerly look forward to the resolution of this matter.” 
 
 Ryan Day, a 39-year-old co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach who joined the program a year ago, will serve as acting head football coach, the statement said. Meyer was out of coaching for a season, but was hired by Ohio State in November 2011. Since returning to coaching, Meyer's program has been one of the most dominant in college football, and his players have mostly stayed out of major trouble. Zach Smith is the grandson of late Ohio State coach Earle Bruce, who Meyer has long praised as a mentor and one of the most influential people in his life. The firing came on the same day the 2009 allegation against Zach Smith was reported, along with police reports detailing two other accusations Courtney Smith made against Zach Smith in fall of 2015. At Big Ten media days last week, Meyer said he knew of the incident in 2009 and that he and Shelley Meyer addressed it with the Smiths. “Never anything came to light, never had a conversation about it. Once again, I don't know who creates a story like that.” 
 
 Meyer also said he would have fired Smith in 2015 if he had known about the incidents. “I got a text late last night something happened in 2015,” Meyer said.
– One of college football's most successful coaches has been placed on paid leave during the investigation of allegations that could result in his firing. Ohio State says it is looking into claims that Urban Meyer was aware in 2015 of domestic violence allegations involving former assistant coach Zach Smith, the New York Times reports. The university announced that Meyer had been placed on leave hours after former ESPN journalist Brett McMurphy published a report on Facebook alleging that Meyer's wife, Shelley, had known in 2015 about two domestic violence incidents involving Smith and his now ex-wife, Courtney Smith. McMurphy said his report was backed up by text messages. "Shelley said she was going to have to tell Urban," Courtney Smith said in an interview, per the Dayton Daily News. "I said, 'That’s fine. You should tell Urban. We can’t have somebody like this coaching young men." Smith was fired last week after a court granted Courtney Smith a domestic violence restraining order. Meyer could lose his $7.6 million-a-year job if he is found to have violated Ohio State's Title IX sexual misconduct policy on reporting domestic violence allegations, the AP reports. In a statement, Meyer said placing him on leave was a good move. "This allows the team to conduct training camp with minimal distraction," he said. "I eagerly look forward to the resolution of this matter."