Homer Smith
Homer Smith went 53–71–1 as a head coach, 1965–1978, at Davidson, Pacific and Army. Share
- Record
- 53–71–1 career
- Seasons
- 12
- Schools
- 3
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Best season
- 1969 7–4
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Davidson | 6–4 | T–5th | |||
| 1966 | Davidson | 4–5 | 5th | |||
| 1967 | Davidson | 4–5 | 8th | |||
| 1968 | Davidson | 3–6 | 6th | |||
| 1969 | Davidson | 7–4 | T–1st | Tangerine Bowl L | ||
| 1970 | Pacific | 5–6 | T–4th | |||
| 1971 | Pacific | 3–8 | 6th | |||
| 1972–73: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1974 | Army | 3–8 | ||||
| 1975 | Army | 2–9 | ||||
| 1976 | Army | 5–6 | ||||
| 1977 | Army | 7–4 | ||||
| 1978 | Army | 4–6–1 | ||||
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 12 | 0–12 | 0% |
| Against top-10 teams | 5 | 0–5 | 0% |
| Against rivals | 14 | 5–9 | 36% |
| Conference games | 36 | 14–22 | 39% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 1 | 0–1 | 0% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 39 | 19–19–1 | 50% |
| At home | 60 | 34–25–1 | 57% |
| On the road | 57 | 18–39 | 32% |
| At neutral sites | 8 | 1–7 | 13% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 50 | 36–14 | 72% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 75 | 17–57–1 | 23% |
His own 125 games on file, 1965–1978, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert King 1965–1969 | 4–1 | Furman | 5 | |
| George Welsh 1974–1978 | 1–4 | Navy | 5 | |
| Ben Martin 1974–1977 | 3–1 | Air Force | 4 | |
| Frank Jones 1966–1969 | 1–3 | Richmond | 4 | |
| Red Parker 1966–1969 | 1–3 | The Citadel | 4 | |
| Neil Wheelwright 1976–1978 | 2–1 | Holy Cross | 3 | |
| Clarence Stasavich 1966–1969 | 1–2 | East Carolina | 3 | |
| Vito Ragazzo 1967–1969 | 1–2 | VMI | 3 | |
| Joe Paterno 1974–1976 | 0–3 | Penn State | 3 | |
| Johnny Majors 1975–1978 | 0–3 | Pittsburgh, Tennessee | 3 |
Homer Smith’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Lafayetteseries | 5 | 5–0 |
| Holy Crossseries | 5 | 4–1 |
| Furmanseries | 5 | 4–1 |
| Air Forceseries | 5 | 4–1 |
| Woffordseries | 5 | 3–2 |
| The Citadelseries | 5 | 2–3 |
| VMIseries | 5 | 2–3 |
| Navyseries | 5 | 1–4 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Stanford | Junior varsity coach | |
| 1958–59 | Stanford | Freshman coach | |
| 1960 | Stanford | Backfield coach | |
| 1961–64 | Air Force | Backfield coach | |
| 1965–69 | Davidson | Head coach | |
| 1970–71 | Pacific (CA) | Head coach | |
| 1972–73 | UCLA | Offensive coordinator | |
| 1974–78 | Army | Head coach | |
| 1980–86 | UCLA | Offensive coordinator | |
| 1987 | Kansas City Chiefs NFL | Offensive coordinator | |
| 1988–89 | Alabama | Offensive coordinator | |
| 1990–93 | UCLA | Offensive coordinator | |
| 1994–95 | Alabama | Offensive coordinator | |
| 1996–97 | Arizona | Offensive coordinator |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Chuck TaylorStanford
- Jack CurticeStanford
- Ben MartinAir Force
- Pepper RodgersUCLA
- Terry DonahueUCLA
- Frank GanszKansas City Chiefs
- Bill CurryAlabama
- Gene StallingsAlabama
- Dick TomeyArizona
Assistants who became head coaches
- Dave FaggDavidson
- Dick TomeyHawai’i, Arizona, San José State
- Chester CaddasPacific, Colorado State
- Pete KettelaUC Riverside, Edmonton Eskimos
- Walt HarrisPacific, Pittsburgh, Stanford
- Frank GanszKansas City Chiefs
- Steve AxmanNorthern Arizona
Worked under (9)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chuck Taylor | Stanford | 1957 | Junior varsity coach | |
| Jack Curtice | Stanford | 1958–60 | 1958–59: freshman coach; 1960: backfield coach | |
| Ben Martin | Air Force | 1961–64 | Backfield coach | |
| Pepper Rodgers | UCLA | 1972–73 | Offensive coordinator | |
| Terry Donahue | UCLA | 1980–93 | Offensive coordinator | |
| Frank Gansz | Kansas City Chiefs NFL | 1987 | Offensive coordinator | |
| Bill Curry | Alabama | 1988–89 | Offensive coordinator | |
| Gene Stallings | Alabama | 1994–95 | Offensive coordinator | |
| Dick Tomey | Arizona | 1996–97 | Offensive coordinator |
Coached under him, later head coaches (7)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Fagg | Davidson, 1965–69: assistant coach | Davidson | |
| Dick Tomey | Davidson, 1965–66: defensive backs coach | Hawai’i, Arizona, San José State | |
| Chester Caddas | Pacific, 1970–71: assistant coach | Pacific, Colorado State | |
| Pete Kettela | Pacific, 1971: assistant coach | UC Riverside, Edmonton Eskimos | |
| Walt Harris | Pacific, 1971: defensive backs coach | Pacific, Pittsburgh, Stanford | |
| Frank Gansz | Army, 1974: offensive coordinator | Kansas City Chiefs | |
| Steve Axman | Army, 1976–78: assistant coach | Northern Arizona |
Other assistants under him (1)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Dick Bumpas | Army, 1978: defensive line coach |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.