Chuck Smith (American football coach)
 Smith Coaching at Boyle County | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 21, 1957 Louisville, Kentucky |
| Occupation(s) | High school and college football coach |
| Years active | 1983–2019 |
| Spouse | Jackie Smith |
| Children | 2 |
| Playing career | |
| 1978–1980 | Kentucky |
| Position(s) | Linebacker |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1983–1986 | Harrodsburg High School (KY) (assistant) |
| 1987 | Allen County Scottsville HS (KY) |
| 1988–1991 | Campbellsville HS (KY) |
| 1992–2004 | Boyle County HS (KY) |
| 2005–2012 | Kentucky (LB) |
| 2013 | Bardstown HS (KY) (DC)[1] |
| 2014–2019 | Boyle County HS (KY) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 234–69[2] |
| Bowls | 6–2 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 6 KHSAA state (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2017)[3] | |
| Awards | |
| |
Chuck Smith (born December 21, 1957) is a former American football coach. Smith served as the head coach at Boyle County High School, Campbellsville High School, and Allen County Scottsville High School. Smith also served as linebackers coach at the University of Kentucky.[7] At Boyle County, Smith won six state championships and a KHSAA record breaking five in a row from 1999 to 2003.[8] Smith is highly regarded as one of the best football coaches in Kentucky high school football history.[1]
Early life and education
Smith was born on December 21, 1957[4] in Louisville, Kentucky.[9] He was an all-state linebacker at Jeffersontown High School,[9] graduating in 1977.[4] He was a linebacker for the University of Kentucky from 1978 to 1980.[9]
Coaching career
Early coaching career
Shortly after Smith's playing career at Kentucky, Smith began his coaching career at Harrodsburg High School as an assistant under long-time coach Alvis Johnson. After three years with the Pioneers, Smith accepted the head coaching job at Allen County Scottsville High School having a 6–5 season. After one year with the Patriots, Smith accepted the head coaching job at Campbellsville High School[9] leading to a turnaround for the Eagles football program.
Boyle County
After revitalizing Campbellsville's football program, Smith accepted the head coaching job at Boyle County High School. Prior to Smith's arrival at Boyle County, the Rebels had not had a winning season since 1986 when they went 7–4. Additionally, they had not had a ten win season since 1976. During the 1992 season, Smith's first Rebels team went 7–4 snapping a 6-year losing record streak. Three years later, Smith's Rebels went 10–3, their first ten win season in 19 years. Four years later Smith has the first undefeated 15–0 season in Boyle County football history and won Boyle's first state championship in school history. From 1999 to 2003, Smith's Rebels won a then state record breaking five state championships in a row,[8] four of them being undefeated 15–0 seasons led by 2001 Kentucky Mr. Football winner Jeff Duggins[10] and future NFL tight end Jacob Tamme.
Kentucky
Following an incredible run at Boyle County, Smith accepted his dream job, coaching linebackers at Kentucky. Under head coaches Rich Brooks and Joker Phillips, Smith coached four first team All-SEC linebackers. Those names include Super Bowl 50 champion Danny Trevathan, Wesley Woodyard, Micah Johnson, and Sam Maxwell.
Return to Boyle County
Following Smith's resignation from Madison Central, Smith returned to Boyle County. During Smith's second tenure with the Rebels, he had a record of 69–12 with one state championship title.
Head coaching record
Below is a year-by-year breakdown of Smith's coaching record at Boyle County.
| Year | Team | Overall | Bowl/playoffs | Litkenhous# | MaxPreps° | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boyle County Rebels (Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA)) (1992–2004) | |||||||||
| 1992 | Boyle County | 7–4 | |||||||
| 1993 | Boyle County | 2–8 | |||||||
| 1994 | Boyle County | 9–4 | |||||||
| 1995 | Boyle County | 10–3 | |||||||
| 1996 | Boyle County | 11–3 | |||||||
| 1997 | Boyle County | 11–1 | |||||||
| 1998 | Boyle County | 7–5 | L 2nd round of KHSAA 2A playoffs to Lexington Catholic 28–13. | ||||||
| 1999 | Boyle County | 15–0 | W KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl | ||||||
| 2000 | Boyle County | 15–0 | W KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl | ||||||
| 2001 | Boyle County | 15–0 | W KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl | ||||||
| 2002 | Boyle County | 13–2 | W KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl | ||||||
| 2003 | Boyle County | 15–0 | W KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl | ||||||
| 2004 | Boyle County | 13–2 | L KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl | 3 | |||||
| Boyle County Rebels (Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA)) (2014–2019) | |||||||||
| 2014 | Boyle County | 11–2 | L 3rd round of KHSAA 4A playoffs to Lexington Catholic 40–35. | 36 | |||||
| 2015 | Boyle County | 10–2 | L 2nd round of KHSAA 3A playoffs to Central 27–14. | 10 | 20 | ||||
| 2016 | Boyle County | 7–5 | L 2nd round of KHSAA 3A playoffs to Central 37–6. | 52 | |||||
| 2017 | Boyle County | 14–1 | W 3A KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl | 2 | 2 | ||||
| 2018 | Boyle County | 13–1 | L 3A State Semifinals 21–0 to Corbin | 9 | 13 | ||||
| 2019 | Boyle County | 14–1 | L 4A KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl | 5 | |||||
| Boyle County: | 212–44 | ||||||||
| Total: | 212–44 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Personal life
Smith is married to Jackie Smith.[9]
Smith has two children, Brandon and Nicole. Smith's son Brandon is currently the head coach at South Warren High School in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Brandon Smith has won 2 KHSAA state championships at South Warren.[11]
Notable players coached by Chuck Smith
Boyle County
- Jacob Tamme: 4th round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. Appeared in Super Bowl XLIV with the Colts, then appeared in Super Bowl XLVIII with the Denver Broncos, then was on the Super Bowl LI team with the Atlanta Falcons.[12] Smith coached Tamme at Boyle County High School and at the University of Kentucky.
- Neal Brown: Current head coach at West Virginia. Was also the head coach at Troy 2015–2018 amassing a 35–16 record with 2 Sun Belt Conference championships and 3 bowl wins with the Trojans. Also served as an assistant at UMASS (2003), Sacred Heart (2004), Deleware (2005), Troy (2006–2009), Texas Tech (2010–2012), and Kentucky (2013–2014).[13]
- Travis Leffew: Offensive lineman that played at Louisville. After graduating at Louisville, Leffew went on to become an undrafted NFL offensive lineman playing for the Chicago Bears (2006), Green Bay Packers (2006–2007), Dallas Cowboys (2006), Atlanta Falcons (2007), Kansas City Chiefs (2007–2008), and Cleveland Browns (2008). Leffew was also the head coach at Lincoln County High School (Kentucky) (2014–2017) and now serves as offensive line coach at Boyle County (2018–present).[14]
Kentucky
- Danny Trevathan: Currently playing linebacker for the Chicago Bears. Also, Super Bowl 50 champion, 2010 First-team All-SEC, and 2011 Second-team All-SEC.
- Wesley Woodyard: Player linebacker for the Denver Broncos and the Tennessee Titans. Also was First-team All-SEC two years in a row (2006,2007).
- Micah Johnson: Played linebacker for the Miami Dolphins. Also, a First-team All-SEC selection in 2008 and received SEC coaches All-freshmen honors in 2006. Smith Coached Johnson at Kentucky.
- Avery Williamson: Current linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
References
- ^ a b Zubaty, Peter W. (January 23, 2014). "FOOTBALL: A well-respected man". The Kentucky Standard. Archived from the original on October 29, 2018.
- ^ "KHSAA Top Kentucky Football Coaching Wins List" (PDF). KHSAA. January 13, 2021.
- ^ "Past KHSAA State Football Champions" (PDF). KHSAA. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ a b c Frakes, Jason (December 20, 2019). "Before he retires, Boyle County's Chuck Smith picks up one more coach of the year honor". The Courier-Journal.
- ^ "Coach Awards". National Federation of State High School Associations. January 21, 2021.
- ^ "KFCA Awards". KFCA. January 21, 2021.
- ^ "UK hires ex-Boyle County coach to head LBs". Kentucky New Era. Lexington. Associated Press. December 22, 2004.
- ^ a b "The legacy of the 1999–2003 Champion Rebels". Harrodsburg Herald. August 19, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Chuck Smith Joins UK Football Staff". University of Kentucky Athletics (Press release). December 21, 2004.
- ^ "Kentuckey's Mr. Football". Kentucky Football Coaches Association. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
- ^ Overing, Matt (November 21, 2018). "A winning family tradition: Father/Son duo Chuck and Brandon Smith leading undefeated seasons". The Advocate-Messenger.
- ^ Tamme, Jacob (April 6, 2016). "Wildcat at Heart". The Players' Tribune.
- ^ Overing, Matt (November 29, 2017). "Boyle County alum Neal Brown living large at Troy". The Advocate-Messenger.
- ^ Leedy, Nancy (May 17, 2018). "Leffew resigns as LCHS football coach". theinteriorjournal.com. The Interior Journal.
- 1957 births
- Living people
- American football linebackers
- High school football coaches in Kentucky
- Kentucky Wildcats football coaches
- Kentucky Wildcats football players
- People from Danville, Kentucky
- Sportspeople from Louisville, Kentucky
- Coaches of American football from Kentucky
- Players of American football from Kentucky