On Dec. 1, Ohio University Athletics posted on the social media platform X that defensive coordinator John Hauser had been named interim head coach of Ohio Football. Attached was a 117-word press release stating “Head Coach Brian Smith will be on leave for an undetermined period of time beginning December 1.”
That is where transparency stopped.
The release praised Hauser’s tenure and recapped Ohio’s pending bowl selection. It did not explain why the sitting head coach of a Division I football program abruptly disappeared weeks before a bowl game, whether the leave is paid or unpaid, whether Smith remains a university employee or whether the leave was voluntary or forced.
Since then, despite repeated requests for information, OU has said nothing further. This silence is not neutral; it’s reckless.
I study public relations and will graduate in six months. I am walking directly into an industry built on trust, crisis management and public accountability. What OU is doing right now is a textbook example of what not to do.
According to Ed Powers, PR faculty lead for Northeastern University’s Master of Science in Corporate and Organizational Communication program, the number one rule of crisis communication is to respond quickly.
“In most cases, if you don’t respond within the first few hours, people typically jump to two conclusions,” Powers said to Northeastern University.
That is no longer a theoretical warning. It’s exactly what is happening now. With no answers from the university, people are jumping to conclusions. Divorce documents are being pulled, police records are being requested and rumors on Reddit are being treated like leads — not because journalists want to speculate, but because OU has created a vacuum where speculation thrives.
“If you don’t tell your story, someone else will,” Powers said. And that is exactly what has happened here.
The secrecy behind Smith’s leaving is made stranger by precedent. Although sudden coaching changes are on the rise, like Lane Kiffin’s move from Ole Miss Rebels to Louisiana State University Tigers just weeks before the postseason, it would still be unusual and historically inconsistent for OU to effectively remove a head football coach after one season without explanation.
Smith’s predecessor, Tim Albin, served four seasons as head coach and spent more than 20 years with the university before taking another job at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Sudden coaching changes typically follow sustained performance failure, not a single season and not in the middle of bowl eligibility.
Smith wasn’t hired casually. A December 2024 term sheet confirmed by the university showed his contract running through 2029 with an average annual value of $850,000. His base salary alone was $615,000, according to USA Today. This does not indicate Smith as a temporary hire, but rather a major public investment.
In the vacuum created by OU’s silence, deeply personal claims have circulated about Smith and his family. This isn’t accountability. It’s the predictable consequence of institutional stonewalling, and it has drawn private individuals, including members of Smith’s family, into a public crisis they didn’t create.
Crisis experts agree on five core principles: respond quickly, be transparent, remain consistent, show empathy and act proactively. OU is failing at every one of them.
Transparency doesn’t require releasing every private detail. It does require acknowledging what the public is owed, especially when the individual involved represents the university on a national stage and oversees a multimillion-dollar athletic program.
OU is now following a dangerous trajectory: say almost nothing, let speculation grow and allow reputations to bleed in the dark.
Smith is not just a private citizen. He is, by definition, a public figure entrusted with representing the university. That comes with accountability, and accountability begins with truthful and timely communication.
OU can still stop this by issuing a clear, factual statement that sets boundaries, protects privacy where appropriate and restores credibility. Smith can also choose to speak and clear the air. But continued silence only deepens the damage and expands the harm.
This silence is no longer neutral. It is the crisis.
Abby Waechter is a senior studying strategic communication at Ohio University. Please note the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Have something to say? Email Abby at aw087421@ohio.edu.
