Entering his ninth season as a coach in the NFL, Mike Smith begins his third year with the Packers in 2021 as the club's outside linebackers coach. Named to his position on Jan. 25, 2019, by Head Coach Matt LaFleur, Smith came to Green Bay after spending three seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, having served as outside linebackers coach in 2018 and as the assistant defensive line coach in 2016-17.
Smith's first NFL coaching experience came with the N.Y. Jets, where he worked as a coaching intern for two years (2010-11) and the outside linebackers coach in 2012. He also brings four years of coaching experience at the college level, with three seasons at his alma mater, Texas Tech (2013-15), and one season at the University of Hawaii (2009).
Highlighted by LB Za'Darius Smith, the 2020 season saw Smith's unit again lead the Packers' pass-rush effort. Z. Smith was named to the Pro Bowl for the second straight season after tying for No. 4 in the NFL with 12½ sacks. He became the first Packers defender to earn a Pro Bowl selection in consecutive years since LB Clay Matthews in 2014-15. Additionally, Z. Smith earned second-team All-Pro honors from The Associated Press for the first time in his career, becoming the first Packers LB to be named All-Pro since Matthews in 2012. In his two years working under Smith, Z. Smith has posted 26 sacks, the most by a player in his first two seasons with the Packers and tied for No. 3 in the NFL over that span.
Smith also oversaw the development of second-year LB Rashan Gary in 2020. Despite only starting four games, Gary finished No. 2 on the team with five sacks and tied for No. 2 on the team with 11 QB hits during the regular season.
In his first season with the Packers, Smith oversaw the most productive pass-rushing duo in the NFL. Signed as free agents in March 2019, LBs Z. Smith (13½) and Preston Smith (12) both posted career-high sack totals as they became the first duo in team history (since 1982) to post 12-plus sacks each in the same season and the first duo in NFL history to both register 12-plus sacks in their first season as teammates. The lone teammate duo in the league with 12-plus sacks each in 2019, Z. Smith ranked tied for No. 1 in the NFL among linebackers with 37 QB hits and tied for No. 2 with 50 total pressures, while P. Smith ranked No. 7 with 23 QB hits and No. 9 with 34 total pressures (according to Sportradar).
Z. Smith's sack total was tied for No. 5 in a season in team history (since 1982), and according to NFL Next Gen Stats, he led the NFL in disruptions (combined total of hurries, pressures or sacks – one per play) in 2019 with 84. Following the season, he was named to his first career Pro Bowl.
In 2018, Smith tutored LB Dee Ford, who was tied for No. 2 among NFL linebackers with a career-high 13 sacks on his way to earning Pro Bowl recognition for the first time in his career. Ford was also tied for the league lead (DE J.J. Watt) with a career-best seven forced fumbles, tied for the second most in a season in franchise history behind only LB Derrick Thomas (eight in 1992).
Smith also coached veteran LB Justin Houston in 2018, helping him register nine sacks and five forced fumbles in 12 games of action. Ford and Houston became the first Kansas City duo to both register five-plus forced fumbles in the same season since DEs Jared Allen and Tamba Hali accomplished the feat in 2006. Ford and Houston joined Broncos LBs Von Miller and Bradley Chubb as the only teammate duo in the NFL in 2018 to both register nine-plus sacks on the season.
Smith's outside linebackers helped the Kansas City defense tie for the league lead with 52 sacks in 2018, the third most in franchise history as the Chiefs led the NFL in the category for the first time since 1990. Kansas City's defense led the league with 23 forced fumbles in '18, the most by the Chiefs since they recorded the same number in 2006.
In 2017, Smith worked as the assistant defensive line coach, helping tutor a line that produced 11½ sacks and 21 tackles for a loss. DL Chris Jones ranked No. 2 on the team with 6½ sacks, three of which came in a Week 2 contest vs. Philadelphia as he became the first Chiefs defensive lineman to record three sacks in a game since 2010. Jones earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance against the Eagles, one that included two forced fumbles and his first career interception.
In 2016, Smith assisted with a defensive line that helped limit opponents to an average of 19.4 points per game, good for No. 7 in the NFL. He played an instrumental role in the development of Jones, who played in all 16 games with 11 starts and was named to the PFWA All-Rookie team. The defensive line also helped the Chiefs rank No. 1 in the league in takeaways (33), No. 5 in red-zone defense (49.1 percent) and tied for No. 6 in TDs allowed (34).
Prior to his arrival in Kansas City, Smith coached at his alma mater, Texas Tech, for three seasons (2013-15). He served as the co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach in 2015 after working as the interim defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach in 2014. Under his guidance in '14, junior LB Pete Robertson led the Big 12 and was tied for No. 7 in the country with 12 sacks on his way to earning first-team AP All-Big 12 honors. Smith served as the co-defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach in his first season with the Red Raiders in 2013, helping the defense nearly double its takeaway total from the previous season.
Smith worked the previous three seasons for the New York Jets, coaching the outside linebackers in 2012 and serving as a coaching intern in 2010-11. In 2012, he was part of a staff that helped the Jets rank No. 2 in the league in passing yards allowed (189.8 ypg) and opponent completion percentage (53.8) and No. 7 in opponent passer rating (78.2). Smith helped tutor LB Aaron Maybin in 2011, who led the Jets with six sacks and four forced fumbles in only 13 games of action. Smith was part of a defensive staff that helped New York rank No. 3 in the league in total defense (291.5 ypg), run defense (90.9 ypg) and yards allowed per carry (3.56) in 2010 as the Jets advanced to the AFC Championship Game.
Smith's coaching career began in 2009 when he served as the linebackers coach at the University of Hawaii, where he tutored LB Blake Soares, who posted a team-high 107 tackles (58 solo) on his way to earning first-team All-Western Athletic Conference honors.
Smith was a four-year letterwinner as a linebacker at Texas Tech, where he was named team MVP and captain as a senior in 2004. At the time of his graduation, he was one of just five Texas Tech players to have appeared in 50-plus career games. He was tied for the team lead with 83 tackles as a senior, earning All-Big 12 honorable mention as he helped lead the Red Raiders to an 8-4 overall record and an upset win over No. 4-ranked California and QB Aaron Rodgers in the Holiday Bowl.
Smith was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the seventh round (No. 234 overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft and went on to play from 2005-07 for the Ravens before his career was cut short due to injuries in 2008.
Born Sept. 2, 1981, in Lubbock, Texas, Smith earned a degree in communication studies at Texas Tech. He and his wife, Emily, have two daughters, Kennedy and Finley, and a son, Weston.
