Ohio fires coach Brian Smith for cause in another mysterious dismissal amid Michigan’s Sherrone Moore scandal

Ohio University football coach Brian Smith has been dismissed for what the school is calling ‘serious professional misconduct.’

The 45-year-old Smith was placed on leave for undisclosed reasons at the start of the month. Wednesday’s statement did not shed any light on the circumstances of his dismissal, but a school spokesman said Smith was the subject of an investigation.

‘The termination follows an administrative review of allegations that Smith violated the terms of his employment agreement by engaging in serious professional misconduct and participating in activities that reflect unfavorably on the University,’ read the school statement.

Interim head coach John Hauser will remain in place as the 8-4 Bobcats prepare for the December 23 Frisco Bowl against UNLV. 

Smith and Ohio previously agreed to a five-year deal that paid him $815,000 this season and included a bonus if he stayed with the program through December 31, 2025. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to his attorney for comment.  

Smith’s bizarre dismissal follows a similarly mysterious firing in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where football coach Sherrone Moore was let last week for an allegedly inappropriate relationship with a staff member. Hours later, the married father of three was arrested in a church parking lot after allegedly going to his executive assistant’s home and threatening to harm himself with a butter knife and scissors. 

Moore was charged with breaking and entering, home invasion and stalking at his arraignment Friday before being released on a $25,000 bond.

‘I’m going to kill myself,’ Moore told the alleged victim, as quoted by assistant prosecutor Kati Rezmierski at Friday’s arraignment in Michigan. ‘I’m going to make you watch. My blood is on your hands. You ruined my life.’

Rezmierski said Moore and the woman had been engaged in an ‘intimate relationship’ for a number of years. Magistrate Odetalla M. Odetalla forbid the court from identifying the alleged victim, but the 911 call that led to Moore’s arrest was made from an apartment belonging to his executive assistant, Paige Shiver, according to online records. 

If convicted on all counts, Moore could face up to six years in prison and as much as $3,500 in fines, according to Washtenaw County’s Friday statement. Moore has since been freed on $25,00 bond after being ordered to wear a GPS device and continue undergoing mental health treatment.