Why Thad Matta’s removal at Ohio State is surprising but also totally understandable

AD Gene Smith decided not to wait to do what he was probably going to do next year anyway

On one hand, I don't like it -- because Thad Matta has done some incredible things at Ohio State and might've, almost more than anybody else, deserved the chance to coach his way out of the undeniable mess the Buckeyes are in now. But on the other hand, I get it. And that's not something I figured I'd be typing Monday morning.

The official announcement came Monday afternoon.

Thad Matta is out at Ohio State.

He's not stepping away for health reasons. He's not retiring to spend more time with his family. Simply put, Matta's boss, athletic director Gene Smith, looked at how the past few months of recruiting had unfolded, after Ohio State had missed the NCAA Tournament in each of the past two years, and recognized there was little reason to believe good things were on the way. So why delay what was probably coming next March anyway? That's essentially what Smith asked himself last week. And now he's conducting a national search that'll restart the coaching carousel once again.

It's only shocking because it's so rare.

Typically, athletic directors wait things out. They privately know one more subpar season will be the last for their coach, then they let their coach go 6-12 in the league before doing what they basically already knew they were going to do a year earlier. They delay the inevitable. But Smith decided to fast-forward the process. He must've known, deep down, that one more bad season would force him to make a coaching change -- at which point he looked at Ohio State's roster, after a double-digit scorer quit and a Class of 2018 priority decommitted while the staff missed on multiple high-level recruiting targets that could've theoretically helped next season, and concluded, probably accurately, that there was no way for the Buckeyes to avoid that bad season.

So why wait?

If you've already decided three straight years without an NCAA Tournament appearance was going to be the end for Matta, and there's no reason to think Ohio State will make the NCAA Tournament next year, Smith concluded ... why wait and cause your next coach to miss out on the Class of 2018? It's not like money is an issue at Ohio State; so the school will never be bound to any coach because of a contract. Which is why, if I'm being honest, I totally get Smith's rationale for doing what he did -- even if the timing is unusual. Best I can tell, Smith wanted to give Matta the chance to coach out of this. But the past three months provided no evidence that suggested that was a likely scenario. So the trigger was pulled -- abruptly but logically.

That said, this stinks.

First and foremost, it's impossible to feel anything other than bad for Matta -- not only because he was removed even though he won five Big Ten regular-season titles, four Big Ten Tournament titles and took Ohio State to two Final Fours in 13 years as the Buckeyes' coach, but also because he's a likable and respected figure who was dealt an unfair and unfortunate hand back in 2007.

That's when a botched back surgery robbed him of his health.

This is a man who used to be active. He was a runner. But now he's a 49 year old with limited use of his right foot and pain that has at times been debilitating. And it's not a stretch to write that the downturn in his program was at least partly tied to his health, if only because rival coaches used it against him on the recruiting trail.

"Yeah, probably," Matta answered Monday when asked if he'd still be coaching if not for that botched back surgery. And I think he's right. And there's nothing satisfying about watching a decent man have his career cut short because of things out of his control.

That's the part that makes me sad.

Before that back surgery, and even through 2013, Matta looked like a coach maybe headed for the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame. But then the 2015 recruiting class fell apart quickly, the 2016 class featured just one top-75 prospect, the 2017 class is ranked 71st nationally and the top Ohio prospect in the Class of 2018 publicly undid his commitment. Meantime, the Buckeyes haven't finished higher than fifth in the Big Ten in any of the past four seasons. And a 10th-or-worse finish was probably on tap for the second straight year next year.

None of that is good.

So now Ohio State is looking for a new coach.

I don't like it.

But I understand it.

And, for what it's worth, Thad Matta said he does too.