Mike Smith (American football coach)

For other people named Michael Smith, see Michael Smith (disambiguation).

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)
Team(s) as a coach/administrator
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.

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:

• Brian Billick, Baltimore Ravens (1999–2002)
• Jack Del Rio, Jacksonville Jaguars (2003–2007)

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

• Atlanta Falcons profile

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

Persondata
Name	Smith, Mike
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 13, 1959
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death