O’Brien ‘Was Never Fired’

Jim O’Brien says there is no truth to a Boston columnist’s contention that he was fired at Boston College before taking the Ohio State basketball coaching job.

“I was never fired,” O’Brien told The Columbus Dispatch. “All I can say is that what is reported is inaccurate.”

A Saturday column by Will McDonough in The Boston Globe said Boston College president the Rev. William P. Leahy, angry over leaks he felt came from O’Brien, withdrew a proposed contract extension and told O’Brien “he was no longer the basketball coach.”

The column did not cite a source.