Gene Smith didn’t know that 2018 would be Urban Meyer’s final year as Ohio State’s head football coach, but he had expected that Meyer would ultimately join him in Ohio State’s athletic administration once his coaching tenure was done.
When Meyer signed a contract extension with Ohio State last March, it appeared as though he would continue to lead the football program for at least five more years. That contract foretold that Meyer was starting to think about his post-coaching future, though, as it included an addendum stipulating that Meyer would be offered an administrative role with the university at the conclusion of that contract term.