John Smith
John Smith went 157–137 as a head coach, 1989–2018, at Idaho, Utah State, Louisville, Michigan State, Arkansas, Fort Lewis and Kentucky State. Share
12 seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1989–94 at Idaho; 2013–15 at Fort Lewis; 2016–18 at Kentucky State. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 157–137 career
- Seasons
- 25
- Schools
- 7
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Best season
- 2001 11–2, No. 17
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Idaho * | 9–3 | 1st | NCAA Division I-AA First Round L | ||
| 1990 | Idaho * | 9–4 | 2nd | NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal L | 13 | |
| 1991 | Idaho * | 6–5 | T–4th | |||
| 1992 | Idaho * | 9–3 | T–1st | NCAA Division I-AA First Round L | 5 | |
| 1993 | Idaho * | 11–3 | T–2nd | NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal L | 11 | |
| 1994 | Idaho * | 9–3 | T–2nd | NCAA Division I-AA First Round L | 6 | |
| 1995 | Utah State | 4–7 | T–2nd | |||
| 1996 | Utah State | 6–5 | T–1st | |||
| 1997 | Utah State | 6–6 | T–1st | Humanitarian Bowl L | ||
| 1998 | Louisville | 7–5 | 3rd | Motor City Bowl L | ||
| 1999 | Louisville | 7–5 | T–2nd | Humanitarian Bowl L | ||
| 2000 | Louisville | 9–3 | 1st | Liberty Bowl L | ||
| 2001 | Louisville | 11–2 | 1st | Liberty Bowl W | 17 | |
| 2002 | Louisville | 7–6 | 3rd | GMAC Bowl L | ||
| 2003 | Michigan State | 8–5 | T–4th | Alamo Bowl L | ||
| 2004 | Michigan State | 5–7 | T–5th | |||
| 2005 | Michigan State | 5–6 | 9th | |||
| 2006 | Michigan State | 4–8 | T–10th | |||
| 2007–11: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 2012 | Arkansas | 4–8 | 6th (Western) | |||
| 2013 | Fort Lewis * | 4–7 | T–7th | |||
| 2014 | Fort Lewis * | 3–8 | T–9th | |||
| 2015 | Fort Lewis * | 7–4 | T–3rd | |||
| 2016 | Kentucky State * | 4–7 | 2nd (West) | |||
| 2017 | Kentucky State * | 3–7 | 3rd (West) | |||
| 2018 | Kentucky State * | 0–10 | 5th (West) | |||
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. * A season our game records don’t credit to him; its record is the article’s.
Players he coached
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 28 | 8–20 | 29% |
| Against top-10 teams | 10 | 3–7 | 30% |
| Against rivals | 38 | 19–19 | 50% |
| Conference games | 91 | 51–40 | 56% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 7 | 1–6 | 14% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 54 | 21–33 | 39% |
| At home | 81 | 49–32 | 60% |
| On the road | 66 | 32–34 | 48% |
| At neutral sites | 9 | 2–7 | 22% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 86 | 59–27 | 69% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 70 | 24–46 | 34% |
His own 156 games on file, 1995–2012, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Bower 1995–2002 | 3–4 | Southern Miss | 7 | |
| Rick Minter 1997–2002 | 4–2 | Cincinnati | 6 | |
| Ron Turner 1998–2004 | 3–2 | Illinois | 5 | |
| Sonny Lubick 1995–2002 | 1–4 | Colorado State | 5 | |
| Steve Logan 1998–2002 | 3–1 | East Carolina | 4 | |
| Ron McBride 1995–1998 | 2–2 | Utah | 4 | |
| Glen Mason 2003–2006 | 2–2 | Minnesota | 4 | |
| Joe Paterno 2003–2006 | 1–3 | Penn State | 4 | |
| Jim Tressel 2003–2006 | 0–4 | Ohio State | 4 | |
| Lloyd Carr 2003–2006 | 0–4 | Michigan | 4 |
John 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Illinoisseries | 7 | 4–3 |
| Southern Missseries | 7 | 3–4 |
| Kentuckyseries | 6 | 4–2 |
| Cincinnatiseries | 6 | 4–2 |
| Colorado Stateseries | 5 | 1–4 |
| New Mexico Stateseries | 4 | 4–0 |
| Memphisseries | 4 | 4–0 |
| Indianaseries | 4 | 3–1 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Weber State | Graduate assistant | |
| 1972–76 | Montana | Assistant coach | |
| 1977–81 | Nevada | Defensive coordinator | |
| 1982–85 | Idaho | Defensive coordinator | |
| 1986 | Wyoming | Defensive coordinator | |
| 1987–88 | Washington State | Defensive coordinator | |
| 1989–94 | Idaho | Head coach | |
| 1995–97 | Utah State | Head coach | |
| 1998–2002 | Louisville | Head coach | |
| 2003–06 | Michigan State | Head coach | |
| 2009–11 | Arkansas | Special teams coach | |
| 2012 | Arkansas | Head coach | |
| 2013–15 | Fort Lewis service team | Head coach | |
| 2016–18 | Kentucky State | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Sarkis ArslanianWeber State
- Chris AultNevada
- Dennis EricksonIdaho, Wyoming, Washington State
- Bobby PetrinoArkansas
Assistants who became head coaches
- Bobby PetrinoLouisville, Arkansas, Western Kentucky, Atlanta Falcons, Missouri State
- Scott LinehanSt. Louis Rams
- Nick HoltIdaho
- Paul PetrinoIdaho
- Jim McElwainColorado State, Florida, Central Michigan
- Shawn ClarkApp State
- Danny HopePurdue, Eastern Kentucky
- Paul HaynesKent State
- Dave BaldwinSanta Barbara, Santa Rosa, Cal State Northridge, San José State, Colorado State
- Dan EnosCentral Michigan
Worked under (4)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sarkis Arslanian | Weber State | 1971 | Graduate assistant | |
| Chris Ault | Nevada | 1977–81 | Defensive coordinator | |
| Dennis Erickson | Idaho | 1982–85 | Defensive coordinator | |
| Dennis Erickson | Wyoming | 1986 | Defensive coordinator | |
| Dennis Erickson | Washington State | 1987–88 | Defensive coordinator | |
| Bobby Petrino | Arkansas | 2009–11 | Special teams coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (10)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Petrino | Idaho, 1989: quarterbacks coach; 1990–91: offensive coordinator; Utah State, 1995–97: offensive coordinator; Louisville, 1998: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Louisville, Arkansas, Western Kentucky, Atlanta Falcons, Missouri State | |
| Scott Linehan | Idaho, 1989–90: wide receivers coach; 1992–93: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach; Louisville, 1999–2001: offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach | St. Louis Rams | |
| Nick Holt | Idaho, 1990–93: defensive line coach; 1994: defensive coordinator and defensive line coach; Louisville, 1998–2000: defensive line coach; Arkansas, 2012: recruiting coordinator | Idaho | |
| Paul Petrino | Idaho, 1992–94: special teams, running backs and wide receivers coach; Utah State, 1995–97: special teams and wide receivers coach; Louisville, 1998–99: wide receivers coach; Arkansas, 2012: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Idaho | |
| Jim McElwain | Louisville, 2000–02: wide receivers and special teams coach; Michigan State, 2003–05: assistant head coach and wide receivers and special teams coach | Colorado State, Florida, Central Michigan | |
| Shawn Clark | Louisville, 2001–02: graduate assistant | App State | |
| Danny Hope | Louisville, 2002: assistant head coach | Purdue, Eastern Kentucky | |
| Paul Haynes | Louisville, 2002: defensive backs coach; Michigan State, 2003–04: defensive backs coach; Arkansas, 2012: defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach | Kent State | |
| Dave Baldwin | Michigan State, 2003–06: offensive coordinator and tight ends coach | Santa Barbara, Santa Rosa, Cal State Northridge, San José State, Colorado State | |
| Dan Enos | Michigan State, 2006: quarterbacks coach | Central Michigan |
Other assistants under him (11)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Donnie Henderson | Idaho, 1989: recruiting coordinator | |
| Mike Cox | Idaho, 1989–94: linebackers coach; Utah State, 1995–97: linebackers coach; Louisville, 1998–2002: linebackers coach; Michigan State, 2003–06: linebackers coach | |
| Kasey Dunn | Idaho, 1993: volunteer assistant | |
| Chris Smeland | Utah State, 1995–97: defensive coordinator; Louisville, 1998–2002: defensive coordinator; Michigan State, 2003–06: defensive coordinator | |
| Nate Kaczor | Utah State, 1995–97: offensive assistant | |
| Johnny Nansen | Louisville, 1999: graduate assistant | |
| Joel Thomas | Louisville, 2002: running backs coach | |
| John Pettas | Louisville, 2002: offensive coordinator | |
| Doug Nussmeier | Michigan State, 2003–05: quarterbacks coach | |
| Kolby Smith | Arkansas, 2012: graduate assistant | |
| Taver Johnson | Arkansas, 2012: assistant head coach and defensive backs 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.
Pay
| Year | School | Job | Contract pay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Arkansas | head coachbonuses up to $225,000 | $850,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2006 | Michigan State | head coachbonuses up to $375,000 | $1,545,834 USA Today via Leeds |
The same USA Today database for 2006–16, from Michael Leeds’ replication data on Harvard Dataverse (CC0): the season’s contract pay.
Pay of public employees in their public job only: head coaches, and assistants in the seasons our records name them a coordinator, at public universities.
How he coached
Smith’s teams went for it on 18% of fourth downs and on 27% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 51% of plays and took 23.3 seconds a play, 2004–2012.
| Season | School | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 12 g | Michigan State | 16 of 101 16% | 26% | 44% | 22.5 | +0.02 | |
| 2005 10 g | Michigan State | 13 of 66 20% | 28% | 48% | 23.9 | +0.13 | |
| 2006 12 g | Michigan State | 15 of 93 16% | 31% | 55% | 24.9 | −0.04 | |
| 2012 12 g | Arkansas | 18 of 91 20% | 23% | 58% | 21.8 | −0.03 | |
| All 46 g | 62 of 351 18% | 27% | 51% | 23.3 | +0.01 |
His seasons as a head coach from 2004 on, from ESPN’s play by play: fourth downs where he went for it out of every fourth-down decision; how often he went when SportsDataverse’s fourth-down model said going for it was the better call; the share of his offense’s plays that were passes; seconds of game clock per offensive play (lower is faster); and expected points added per offensive play (EPA, a measure of how much each play moved the offense toward points). The season in progress counts its games so far. SportsDataverse’s coach tendencies, from ESPN’s play by play; the EPA and the fourth-down model are SportsDataverse’s.