Larry Smith
Larry Smith went 143–126–7 as a head coach, 1976–2000, at Tulane, Arizona, USC and Missouri. Share
- Record
- 143–126–7 career
- Seasons
- 24
- Schools
- 4
- Final AP top 10
- 2 seasons
- Best season
- 1988 10–2, No. 7
Season by season
2
3
4
9
5
6
6
7
7
8
119
188
710
89
208
3
6
3
3
5
237
218
4
3
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Tulane | 2–9 | ||||
| 1977 | Tulane | 3–8 | ||||
| 1978 | Tulane | 4–7 | ||||
| 1979 | Tulane | 9–3 | Liberty Bowl L | |||
| 1980 | Arizona | 5–6 | T–6th | |||
| 1981 | Arizona | 6–5 | T–6th | |||
| 1982 | Arizona | 6–4–1 | 5th | |||
| 1983 | Arizona | 7–3–1 | 5th | |||
| 1984 | Arizona | 7–4 | T–3rd | |||
| 1985 | Arizona | 8–3–1 | T–2nd | Sun Bowl T | ||
| 1986 | Arizona | 9–3 | T–4th | Aloha Bowl W | 11 | |
| 1987 | USC | 8–4 | T–1st | Rose Bowl L | 18 | |
| 1988 | USC | 10–2 | 1st | Rose Bowl L | 7 | |
| 1989 | USC | 9–2–1 | 1st | Rose Bowl W | 8 | |
| 1990 | USC | 8–4–1 | 2nd | John Hancock Bowl L | 20 | |
| 1991 | USC | 3–8 | 8th | |||
| 1992 | USC | 6–5–1 | T–3rd | Freedom Bowl L | ||
| 1993: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1994 | Missouri | 3–8–1 | 6th | |||
| 1995 | Missouri | 3–8 | T–7th | |||
| 1996 | Missouri | 5–6 | 4th (North) | |||
| 1997 | Missouri | 7–5 | 3rd (North) | Holiday Bowl L | 23 | |
| 1998 | Missouri | 8–4 | T–2nd (North) | Insight.com Bowl W | 21 | |
| 1999 | Missouri | 4–7 | T–5th (North) | |||
| 2000 | Missouri | 3–8 | T–5th (North) | |||
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.
Players he coached
Mark Carrier1989 Jim Thorpe Award
Ricky HunleyConsensus All‑American, 1982 and 1983- Dave CadiganConsensus All‑American, 1987
- Tim RyanConsensus All‑American, 1989
Rob RitiConsensus All‑American, 1999- Todd MarinovichNo. 24 pick, 1991
- Pat HarlowNo. 11 pick, 1991
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 | 82 | 23–58–1 | 29% |
| Against top-10 teams | 44 | 12–31–1 | 28% |
| Against rivals | 72 | 25–46–1 | 35% |
| Conference games | 154 | 82–68–4 | 55% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 10 | 3–6–1 | 35% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 107 | 44–56–7 | 44% |
| At home | 145 | 83–60–2 | 58% |
| On the road | 118 | 55–59–4 | 48% |
| At neutral sites | 13 | 5–7–1 | 42% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 138 | 100–35–3 | 74% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 138 | 43–91–4 | 33% |
His own 276 games on file, 1976–2000, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terry Donahue 1980–1992 | 5–5–2 | UCLA | 12 | |
| Rich Brooks 1981–1992 | 7–3 | Oregon | 10 | |
| Don James 1980–1992 | 3–7 | Washington | 10 | |
| Jim Walden 1980–1994 | 5–2 | Washington State, Iowa State | 7 | |
| Bill Snyder 1994–2000 | 0–7 | Kansas State | 7 | |
| Dave Kragthorpe 1985–1990 | 6–0 | Oregon State | 6 | |
| John Cooper 1985–1998 | 4–2 | Arizona State, Ohio State | 6 | |
| Bruce Snyder 1987–1992 | 4–1–1 | California, Arizona State | 6 | |
| Dick Tomey 1987–1992 | 4–2 | Arizona | 6 | |
| Dan McCarney 1995–2000 | 3–3 | Iowa State | 6 |
Larry 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Stanfordseries | 15 | 8–7 |
| Californiaseries | 12 | 8–2–2 |
| UCLAseries | 12 | 5–5–2 |
| Oregon Stateseries | 11 | 11–0 |
| Washington Stateseries | 11 | 9–2 |
| Arizona Stateseries | 11 | 8–3 |
| Oregonseries | 10 | 7–3 |
| Washingtonseries | 10 | 3–7 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962–63 | Shawnee HS (OH) high school | Assistant coach | |
| 1964–66 | Shawnee HS (OH) high school | Head coach | |
| 1967–68 | Miami (OH) | Defensive ends coach | |
| 1969–72 | Michigan | Offensive line coach | |
| 1973–75 | Arizona | Assistant head coach and defensive coordinator | |
| 1976–79 | Tulane | Head coach | |
| 1980–86 | Arizona | Head coach | |
| 1987–92 | USC | Head coach | |
| 1994–2000 | Missouri | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Jim YoungShawnee HS (OH), Arizona
- Bo SchembechlerMiami (OH), Michigan
- Ryan SilverfieldMemphis
- Reggie HowardMemphis
Larry Smith
Assistants who became head coaches
- Moe AnkneyBowling Green
- Chuck AmatoNC State
- Ron TurnerSan José State, Illinois, Florida International
- Steve AxmanNorthern Arizona
- Chuck StobartToledo, Utah, Memphis
- Ron PoncianoMendocino, Cal State Northridge, Los Angeles Valley, Citrus
- Ray DorrSouthern Illinois
- Mike Sanford Sr.UNLV, Indiana State
- Bob CopePacific
- Wayne NunnelyUNLV
- Jerry BerndtPennsylvania, Rice, Temple, DePauw
- Skip HallBoise State
- and 2 more
Worked under (4)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Young | Shawnee HS (OH) high school | 1962–63 | Assistant coach | |
| Bo Schembechler | Miami (OH) | 1967–68 | Defensive ends coach | |
| Bo Schembechler | Michigan | 1969–72 | Offensive line coach | |
| Jim Young | Arizona | 1973–75 | Assistant head coach and defensive coordinator | |
| Ryan Silverfield | Memphis | 2024–25 | Co-offensive coordinator | |
| Reggie Howard | Memphis | 2025 | Co-offensive coordinator |
Coached under him, later head coaches (14)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moe Ankney | Tulane, 1976–79: defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach; Arizona, 1980–85: assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and AB; Missouri, 1994–2000: defensive coordinator | Bowling Green | |
| Chuck Amato | Arizona, 1980–81: linebackers coach | NC State | |
| Ron Turner | Arizona, 1980: wide receivers coach; 1980: running backs coach; USC, 1987: wide receivers coach | San José State, Illinois, Florida International | |
| Steve Axman | Arizona, 1980–84: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Northern Arizona | |
| Chuck Stobart | Arizona, 1986: offensive coordinator; USC, 1987–88: offensive coordinator | Toledo, Utah, Memphis | |
| Ron Ponciano | USC, 1987–88: graduate assistant | Mendocino, Cal State Northridge, Los Angeles Valley, Citrus | |
| Ray Dorr | USC, 1988: wide receivers coach; 1989–91: quarterbacks coach; 1992: offensive coordinator | Southern Illinois | |
| Mike Sanford Sr. | USC, 1989–92: wide receivers coach | UNLV, Indiana State | |
| Bob Cope | USC, 1991–92: defensive backs coach | Pacific | |
| Wayne Nunnely | USC, 1991–92: running backs coach | UNLV | |
| Jerry Berndt | Missouri, 1994–99: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Pennsylvania, Rice, Temple, DePauw | |
| Skip Hall | Missouri, 1994–97: assistant coach | Boise State | |
| Bill Cubit | Missouri, 2000: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Western Michigan, Illinois, Widener | |
| Sam Pittman | Missouri, 2000: offensive line coach | Arkansas, Hutchinson |
Other assistants under him (12)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Roggeman | Arizona, 1982–86: linebackers coach; USC, 1987–92: linebackers coach | |
| Kevin Wolthausen | Arizona, 1983–84: graduate assistant; 1985: outside linebackers coach; 1986: defensive line coach; USC, 1987–92: defensive line coach | |
| Terry Malone | Arizona, 1983–84: graduate assistant | |
| Chris Allen | Arizona, 1986: defensive coordinator | |
| Harry Hiestand | USC, 1987–88: graduate assistant; Missouri, 1994–96: offensive line coach | |
| Randy Fichtner | USC, 1988: graduate assistant | |
| Clancy Pendergast | USC, 1992: graduate assistant | |
| Jay Johnson | Missouri, 1994: graduate assistant | |
| Jon Hoke | Missouri, 1994–98: defensive backs coach | |
| Brian Stewart | Missouri, 1996: graduate assistant; 1999–2000: defensive backs coach | |
| Kim McCloud | Missouri, 1997: graduate assistant | |
| DeMontie Cross | Missouri, 1998–99: outside linebackers 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.