FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Falcons fans around the country were introduced to rumblings of Mike Smith's hiring as the team's new head coach Wednesday morning. With that the Internet searches for information on the coach began. As word became official of Smith's new position with the franchise, more of his impressive coaching history was published.
AtlantaFalcons.com compiled some information from sources around the web on the team's new head coach.
First, some key things you should know about Smith:
- He is the brother-in-law of former Ravens head coach Brian Billick. (CBSSports.com)
- His coaching career has covered both coasts (San Diego State to the Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars) but he spent a total of 12 seasons in Tennessee and Kentucky (11 at Tennessee Tech). He's made just five stops in his 25-year coaching career.
- "As the son of a coach, he's been around the game his entire life." (CBSSports.com)
- He earned a Super Bowl ring with Baltimore in 2000 while serving as the defensive line coach. (Atlanta Journal Constitution)
- He led East Tennessee State in tackles his senior season (1981) with 186, which still stands as the single-season school record. (Atlanta Journal Constitution)
- "He grew up a surfing dude in Daytona Beach, just down the road from Jacksonville, which is hard to believe when you see his buttoned-up style now. 'We'd race out to the surf in the morning, go to school, and then sometimes go back after school,' Smith said. 'Of course, I haven't been on a board for 15 years.' (CBSNews.com)
- "He isn't a screamer, a self-promoter or a guy who distances himself from his players. 'He talks to you, not at you,' Jaguars defensive tackle Marcus Stroud said. 'He doesn't talk down to you'" (CBSNews.com)
- Smith briefly played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League for the 1982 season before retiring. (Wikipedia)
More From ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli
(click here for full article)
"Mike Smith knows about winning football games. In five seasons as the Jacksonville coordinator, the Jaguars won 46 games..."
"Under the stewardship of Smith, the Jacksonville defense statistically ranked among the league's top six three times and was never lower than No. 12. This season, the defense helped Jacksonville advance to the divisional round of the AFC bracket. And that was despite injuries to middle linebacker Mike Peterson, defensive tackle Marcus Stroud and strong safety Gerald Sensabaugh..."
"Smith is a solid football man, a guy who can X and O and get the respect of players..."
More From CBSSports.com's Pete Prisco
(click here for full article)
"Mike Smith is a really good football coach. He's organized, he's detailed and he's a tireless worker... he also has a great rapport with his players, which is important in this era of the modern player..."
"In speaking with several key Jaguars defensive players over the years, they've always said their success on that side of the ball was a good thing, but it also meant they might lose Smith, which they didn't want to do.'Smitty's our guy,' Jaguars middle linebacker Mike Peterson said earlier this year. 'We're selfish, we don't want him to go anywhere...'"
"In 2006, when injuries crippled his defense, he somehow managed to get that unit to third in the league. In 2007, after losing Peterson and Marcus Stroud for the season, and playing without a true pass rusher, the Jaguars finished 12th in the league in total defense. But they were fifth in scoring defense at 19 points per game. That's amazing if you considered he didn't have the middle of his defense and he had to manufacture a pass rush..."
More from Bristol Herald-Courier's Brian T. Smith
(click here for full article)
"Smith played linebacker for the Buccaneers from 1978-81. He set the school’s single-season record for tackles with 186 (91 solo, 95 assists) as a senior in 1981. Smith was a four-year letter winner for the Bucs, received the Southern Conference defensive player of the week award for his performance in ETSU’s 17-13 victory over The Citadel on Oct. 3, 1981, led ETSU in tackles in 1980 with 120, and was twice named the Bucs’ defensive most valuable player..."
"'Mike was a good kid and a tough son of a gun,' said Robert McGraw, a former ETSU offensive line coach. 'I've coached for 47 years, and you remember the tough ones. He was a great teammate, tougher than hell and very determined..."
"Now, Smith is just one step away from becoming the first-ever former Buc football player in the now-deceased program's 83-year history to ever hold a head coaching position in the NFL..."
"It feels great. It says something," said McGraw, 69, who currently resides in Jasper, Ga. "Mike’s a self-made person. He did it. He’s been determined and he stayed with it. Even as a player, you could just tell that he loved the game and he loved to play. He wasn't scared of a damn thing..."
More from the Associated Press
(click here for full article)
"Smith, the Jaguars' defensive coordinator since 2003, had his second interview with the team Friday. He has never been an NFL head coach, but Falcons quarterback Byron Leftwich, who was with Smith in Jacksonville for four years, says Atlanta made the right choice.
'I've played against his defense more than anybody in the world,' Leftwich said. 'I did it every day in practice for four years. I think he's a great guy for the job.
'A lot of people might not know his name, but I've seen the work he puts in every game, how guys were so prepared on Sundays that they knew exactly what teams were going to do... We always said Smitty would be a great head coach because the time he put in and the way he interacted with players and how seriously he took his job.'"
MORE ON HEAD COACH MIKE SMITH:
- NEWS: Falcons, Smith look toward future
- RELEASE: Falcons name Smith new head coach
- PHOTOS: Mike Smith photo gallery
- NOTEBOOK: Getting to Know Mike Smith
- QUOTABLE: What They're Saying about Mike Smith
- AUDIO: Linebacker Michael Boley on the hiring of Mike Smith
- NEWS: Smith names Thomas assistant head coach
- VIDEO: Smith Answers Fans Questions
- VIDEO: Mike Smith Introductory News Conference
- BOARDS: Talk about Smith on FalconsLIFE
