Mike Smith (American football coach)

Mike Smith (American football coach)
Mike Smith
Date of birth June 13, 1959 (1959-06-13) (age 52)
Position(s) Head Coach
College East Tennessee State University
Awards 2008 AP NFL Coach of the Year
Career record 33-15-0 (regular season)

0-2-0 (postseason)
33-17-0 (overall)

1982
1983-1985
1986
1987
1988-1995
1996-1998
1999-2001
2002
2003-2007
2008-present
San Diego State (GA)
San Diego State (LB)
Morehead State (DL)
Tennessee Tech (DL)
Tennessee Tech (ST)
Tennessee Tech (DC)
Baltimore Ravens (DA/DL)
Baltimore Ravens (LB)
Jacksonville Jaguars (DC)
Atlanta Falcons (HC)

Mike Smith, known colloquially as Smitty, (born June 13, 1959 in Chicago, Illinois) is the current head coach for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons. He previously served as the defensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars since the 2003 season. In his first season as Falcons head coach, Smith was recipient of the NFL Coach of the Year Award by the Associated Press.

Contents

Biography

Early years

Raised in Daytona Beach, Florida, Smith played linebacker at Father Lopez Catholic High School, earning All-State honors. In college, he played for East Tennessee State University between 1977 and 1981, being named defensive MVP twice. Professionally, Smith briefly played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League for the 1982 season before retiring.

Coaching career

Smith decided to take up coaching after his playing days were over, and served at several Division I colleges before moving onto the NFL: San Diego State (1982–1985), Morehead State (1986), and Tennessee Tech (1987–1998). He was hired as defensive assistant/defensive line coach for the Baltimore Ravens in 1999 assisting Rex Ryan with the unit for three seasons. In 2002, Smith was promoted to coach the Ravens linebackers and tutored such players as Ray Lewis, Peter Boulware, Jamie Sharper, and Adalius Thomas. Smith was a part of the 2000 Ravens that captured Super Bowl XXXV. On January 21, 2003, Mike Smith was named defensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars for the incoming head coach Jack Del Rio.

In 2008, the Atlanta Falcons named him their Head Coach. In his first season with the team, Smith named rookie Matt Ryan the starting quarterback for the season opener against the Detroit Lions. In his debut as Atlanta head coach, the Falcons beat the Lions 34–21. Atlanta’s 216 yards of total offense in the first quarter is also the highest total in over two decades. The previous high for the Falcons came on October 13, 1991 with 172 yards against San Francisco. His first loss was against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Smith won his first official challenge after challenging the spot of the ball on a Roddy White reception in the third quarter vs Tampa Bay. After the review the officials determined White had reached the first down marker, which kept the Atlanta drive alive. Smith was helped by players like Michael Turner, Roddy White, Michael Jenkins and John Abraham to carry the Falcons to their first playoff berth since 2004. The Falcons lost to the eventual NFC champion Arizona Cardinals in the wild-card round of the 2008 NFL playoffs. He was named the 2008 AP Coach of the year and NFL Coach of the Year beating out Miami Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano in the voting.[1]

In his second season, Smith and the Falcons overcame a tough schedule and several key injuries to QB Matt Ryan and RB Michael Turner to end up with a 9-7 finish and second place in the NFC South. While the Falcons failed to reach the playoffs, this marked the first time the team had ever managed to achieve back-to-back winning seasons in their history. In the 2010 season, Smith led the Falcons to a NFC-best season record of 13-3, earning the team's second NFC South title and fourth divisional championship overall. However, the Falcons were thrashed at home to the eventual Super Bowl XLV champions, the Green Bay Packers, 48-21 losing in the NFC Divisional Round. Under Smith's leadership, the Falcons have achieved three consecutive winning seasons, a new franchise record.

Head coaching record

Team Year Regular Season Post Season
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
ATL 2008 11 5 0 .688 2nd in NFC South 0 1 .000 Lost to Arizona Cardinals in NFC Wild-Card Game.
ATL 2009 9 7 0 .563 2nd in NFC South - - - -
ATL 2010 13 3 0 .812 1st in NFC South 0 1 .000 Lost to Green Bay Packers in NFC Divisional Game.
ATL 2011 5 3 0 .625 NFC South - - - -
Total[2] 38 17 0 .667 0 2 .000

Coaching tree

NFL head coaches under whom Mike Smith has served:

Assistant coaches under Mike Smith who became NFL head coaches:

  • None

Personal

Smith and his wife, Julie, have one daughter, Logan. He is the brother-in-law of Brian Billick.

References

  1. ^ During a recent game involving the Washington Redskins, Mike Smith reminded many of Woody Hayes when he attempted to attack Redskin defensive back, Deangelo Hall.AP names Smith NFL Coach of the Year
  2. ^ Mike Smith Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks - Pro-Football-Reference.com

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
John Pease
Jacksonville Jaguars Defensive Coordinator
2003-2007
Succeeded by
Gregg Williams
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Bill Belichick
NFL Coach of the Year Award
2008
Succeeded by
Marvin Lewis

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Mike Kelly (American football coach) — Mike Kelly Sport(s) Football Biographical details Born c. 1949 Coaching career (HC unless noted) 1975–1976 1977–1980 1981–2007 Hanover (ass …   Wikipedia

  • Mike Smith (American football) — NFL PlayerCoach Name=Mike Smith Color=#bd0d18 fontcolor=black DateOfBirth=birth date and age|1959|6|13 Birthplace= College= Position=Head Coach coach=yes coachingyears=1999 2002 2003 2007 2008 present coachingteams=Baltimore Ravens (Linebackers… …   Wikipedia

  • Dave Smith (American football coach) — For the Houston Oilers player, see Dave Smith (fullback). Dave Smith Sport(s) Football Biographical details Born 1933 Died August 29, 2009 Place of death Burleson, Texas …   Wikipedia

  • Mike McCarthy (American football) — Mike McCarthy Date of birth November 10, 1963 (1963 11 10) (age 48) Place of birth Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Position(s) Head coach College …   Wikipedia

  • Mike Stock (American football) — Mike Stock was an American football coach from 1961[1] through 2009.[2] He coached for 26 years at the collegiate level, 17 years in the National Football League, one year in the United States Football League, and one year coaching high school… …   Wikipedia

  • Mike Archer (American football) — Mike Archer Sport(s) Football Current position Title Defensive coordinator Team NC State Conference ACC Biographical details Born July 26 …   Wikipedia

  • Mike Sullivan (American football) — Mike Sullivan is the current quarterbacks coach for the New York Giants, a position he has held since 2010. Previously he served six years coaching their wide receivers. Career Sullivan previously served as the Giants wide receivers coach, before …   Wikipedia

  • Mike Patterson (American football) — Mike Patterson No. 98     Philadelphia Eagles Defensive tackle Personal information Date of birth: September 1, 1983 (1983 09 01) (age 28) …   Wikipedia

  • Mike Douglass (American football) — Mike Douglass Date of birth: March 15, 1955 (1955 03 15) (age 56) Place of birth: St. Louis, Missouri Career information Position(s) …   Wikipedia

  • Mike McCormack (American football) — Mike McCormack No. 71, 74      Head Coach Offensive tackle Personal information Date of birth: June 21, 1930 (1930 06 21) (age 81) Chicago, Illinois …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”