After serving a three-game suspension for his role in handling domestic violence allegations against a former assistant coach, Urban Meyer is now eligible to return to the sideline and resume his public duties as Ohio State coach.

In an interview with ESPN's Tom Rinaldi that aired Sunday, Meyer, who was suspended without pay but was involved in team practices the last two weeks, discussed his suspension and the scandal that rocked the program in the weeks before the season began.

Meyer said he made a "bad decision" in bringing Zach Smith with him from Florida to Ohio State as a wide receiver's coach after Smith's 2009 incident with his then-wife, Courtney Smith, and that he "erred" in his handling of Smith.

Smith was arrested in 2009 in Florida. No charges were filed. Police in Ohio did not pursue charges for separate domestic violence allegations in 2015.

"I erred when I made a decision to do the best I can to help stabilize that situation," Meyer said. "And one of the things I look back now -- I probably should've fired him."

Smith was fired July 23 after allegations of stalking, trespassing and harassment were made by Courtney Smith as part of a protective order she was granted.

Meyer also said Sunday he should have made Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith aware of the situation when he came to Columbus. He said the couple denied the incident was domestic violence.

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"I was told that it was not domestic violence, that (Courtney) threw (Zach) out of the house and that there were going to be no charges," said Meyer, who said he addressed Smith's 2009 arrest a day after the incident. "I was completely reliant on information from law enforcement. There was no charges."

Rinaldi began the interview by asking, "When I say the name Courtney Smith, what comes to mind?"

Meyer responded: "An extremely difficult situation. A very troubled marriage, a situation that I wish I had known more and I wish I'd done more."

When asked about text messages his wife Shelley sent to Courtney Smith after the 2015 incident, Meyer said he never saw the messages and photos allegedly detailing domestic violence.

"She has reasoning for why she didn't react," Meyer said. "And I'm not here to speak for Shelley, but she had a reasoning and her reasoning was what it was. That's why she did not alert me or just go anywhere else with it."

Two days after his suspension was announced, Meyer took to Twitter on Aug. 24 to apologize to Courtney Smith for his "words and demeanor" at the press conference. Meyer apologized to "Buckeye Nation" for following his "heart and not my head," but did not explicitly apologize to Courtney Smith.

"My words and demeanor on Wednesday did not show how seriously I take relationship violence. I sincerely apologize. I was taught at a very young age that if I ever hit a woman, I would be kicked out of the house and never welcomed back," Meyer tweeted.

"I have the same rule in my house and in the Football Program at Ohio State. Over the years, we have worked hard to educate and remind our coaches and players of the seriousness of relationship violence. Let me say here and now what I should have said on Wednesday: I sincerely apologize to Courtney Smith and her children for what they have gone through."

Meyer on Sunday acknowledged his mishandling of that rule, saying, "I thought the best thing I could do with a very troubled marriage, with a child custody issue going on. And I really thought it through. I thought the best thing I could do is try to help stabilize this thing. If I fire him at the time, sever that relationship, and I see these two young kids. And that's why I've always thought how do you help stabilize someone.

"At the time I thought I was doing the right thing."

With the suspension over, Meyer takes full control of the program and will be back on the sidelines Saturday in Columbus against Tulane.