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John L. Smith
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John L. Smith (born November 15, 1948 in Idaho Falls, Idaho) is a special teams coordinator college football coach at the University of Arkansas. He was previously the head coach at Michigan State, Louisville, Utah State, and Idaho.
His overall record has been mixed, with great success at Idaho and Louisville, but also with mediocrity at Utah State and Michigan State. Critics have cited a lack of discipline among his players and an offense which does not feature a fullback or power running game.
h was born in Idaho Falls and raised in nearby Iona.
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Encyclopedia
John L. Smith (born November 15, 1948 in Idaho Falls, Idaho) is a special teams coordinator college football coach at the University of Arkansas. He was previously the head coach at Michigan State, Louisville, Utah State, and Idaho.
His overall record has been mixed, with great success at Idaho and Louisville, but also with mediocrity at Utah State and Michigan State. Critics have cited a lack of discipline among his players and an offense which does not feature a fullback or power running game.
Personal life
Smith was born in Idaho Falls and raised in nearby Iona. He lettered in football, basketball, and track at Bonneville High School, graduating in 1967. He played college football at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, as both a linebacker and quarterback in the Big Sky Conference. He married Diana Flora on August 15, 1970 and they have three children: Nicholas, Kayse, and Sam. He is the uncle of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith.
Smith has earned a reputation for his adventurous attitude and actions, including para-gliding with his children in Zermatt, Switzerland, climbing a 19,340-foot peak on Mount Kilimanjaro, participating in a flight on a T-38 Talon in Texas at Randolph Air Force Base, skydiving from 14,000 feet over Greensburg, Indiana, and running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain.
In 2000 Sports Illustrated recognized Smith as one of Idaho's top 100 athletes of the 20th century. He was later inducted into the Idaho Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001.
Head coach - 1989–2006
John L. Smith had a record of 22–26 (.458) in his four seasons at Michigan State. The Spartans’ 2006 record was 4–8 (1–7 in the Big Ten).
Smith compiled a record of 132–86 (.605) in his 18 years as a college head coach. After being an assistant head coach for Dennis Erickson for seven seasons, Smith began his head coaching career in 1989 at Idaho, posting a 53-21 record (.716) in six seasons. Under his leadership the Idaho Vandals, then in the Big Sky, made the I-AA playoffs five times. His 53 wins are the most in school history (by 17 games). Smith left Idaho following the 1994 season, moving up to Division I-A with Utah State for three seasons (16–18, .470). Smith then spent five seasons at Louisville (1998-2002), where he put together a 41-21 record (.661), including five straight bowl appearances and back-to-back Conference USA titles in 2000–01.
After the 2002 season, John L. Smith was hired as the head coach at Michigan State, which created controversy for two reasons: Smith was hired before Louisville's bowl game that season, and he did not inform his Louisville players of the decision until halftime of the bowl game, which they lost to Marshall.
Smith ranked 12th among active NCAA Division I-A football coaches in career victories.
Twelve of Smith's eighteen teams have participated in postseason play, including seven straight appearances from 1997–2003. Smith is one of 18 head coaches in college football history to take three different teams to bowl games.
Smith, a defensive coach for most of his career, is also known as one of the disciples of the spread offense, learned from Dennis Erickson through Jack Elway and Jim Sweeney. After introducing it at Michigan State in 2003, his first season with the Spartans, Smith was named the Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year.
Assistant coach - 1971–88
John L. Smith began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Weber State University in 1971. For the next 17 seasons, Smith was an assistant coach, first at Montana (1972–76) for five seasons then at Nevada (1977–81) for five more as the defensive coordinator. He then joined Dennis Erickson as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach for 7 seasons at three locations: Idaho (1982–85), Wyoming (1986), and Washington State (1987–88). The middle initial "L." became part of his public moniker in 1982, due to another John Smith on Erickson's new Idaho coaching staff.
Head coach - 1989
When Erickson left WSU for Miami in 1989, and Idaho's Keith Gilbertson departed for an assistant's job under Don James at Washington in Seattle, Smith decided to stay on the Palouse as head coach at neighboring Idaho.
Smith inherited a Vandal team that went 11-2 in 1988 (Division I-AA semifinals) with a returning All-American quarterback in John Friesz. Despite losing the first two games of 1989 (Washington State & Portland State), Idaho would go undefeated (8-0) in Big Sky conference play, the only time in school history. The Vandals lost in the first round of the I-AA playoffs, and finished at 9–3. Senior quarterback Friesz won the Walter Payton Award for the 1989 season, and was drafted by the San Diego Chargers.
2006 controversy
Smith came under fire during the 2006 season from Michigan State fans and alumni; many of them supported his dismissal as head coach. This was due to the following losses:
- Losing to Michigan 45–37 in 2004 after leading 27-10 in the 4th quarter.
- Losing to Ohio State 35–24 in 2005 in a game that saw the Spartans take a 17-7 lead. With 24 seconds, and no time outs remaining in the first half, Michigan State was facing 2nd down and 12 yards to go at the Ohio State 17 yard line. Michigan State tried a running play resulting in no gain. Facing third down, Michigan State could have easily spiked the ball to stop the clock. However, with the clock running, chaos reigned on the MSU sideline. The confusion resulted in Michigan State lining up for the field with only 10 players. The field goal attempt was blocked, and returned by Ohio State for a touchdown to cut the lead to 17-14. In comments to ABC sideline reporter Jack Arute, Coach Smith blamed the coaching staff remarking "That's a dang coaching mistake.... the kids are playing their tail off, and the coaches are screwing it up."
- Losing to Notre Dame on September 23, 2006, 40–37. Michigan State led 37-21 midway through the fourth quarter.
- Losing to Illinois on September 30, 2006, 23–20, on Homecoming. Illinois had not won a Big Ten game since 2004. After the game, Illinois and Michigan State players fought at midfield after several Illinois players tried to plant their team flag at midfield of Spartan Stadium, which was banned by the Big Ten after 2005. In the postgame press conference, Smith admitted the coaches were having trouble motivating the players, a statement that is comparable to those of Bobby Williams in 2002 before he was fired. Smith also slapped himself in the face (jokingly) as a reference to a previous claim by Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis where he stated that he had been hit in the face during a sideline scrum in the 2006 contest.
- Losing to Indiana 46–21 on October 28, 2006. Historically, Indiana is one of the Big Ten's worst football programs, having only recorded two conference titles (and no national championships) in 106 years of affiliation with the Big Ten Conference.
- On November 1, 2006, John L. Smith was fired from his head coaching job at Michigan State. Smith and his coaching staff stayed on the job through the end of the 2006 season. He was replaced by Mark Dantonio, former Defensive Coordinator at Ohio State and Head Coach of the University of Cincinnati (2004–06), on Nov. 27, 2006.
Coaching record
External links
- - John L. Smith - bio
- - John L. Smith - head coaching record
- - Smith enjoyed time in Sky - 20-July-2006
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