Jerome Anthony Smith (September 9, 1930 – August 6, 2011) was an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
player and coach. Jerry was born in
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...
and attended
Chaminade High School
Chaminade High School is a Roman Catholic Marianist college preparatory high school for boys in Mineola, New York, United States. Chaminade’s main campus is also home to Saragossa Retreat Center, one of their three retreat houses.
Athletics
T ...
, graduating in 1948. At Chaminade he played tight end and later in 1982 was elected to the school's Athletic Hall of Fame.
After Smith's
college football career, which he spent at
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
, the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL) selected Smith in the
1952 NFL Draft
The 1952 National Football League Draft was held on January 17, 1952, at Hotel Statler in New York. Selections made by New York Yanks were assigned to the new Dallas Texans.
This was the sixth year that the first overall pick was a bonus pick d ...
. He played at
left guard for the team in 1952 and 1953. In 1956, he split time between the 49ers and
Green Bay Packers. Smith played in 29 games during his NFL career.
Beginning in 1960, he joined the
Boston Patriots as a coach of the team's defensive linemen and linebackers. Two years later, he took a similar role with the
Buffalo Bills; in his six years as a Bills coach, the team won two
American Football League championships.
In 1968, the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
hired Smith as an assistant personnel director.
From 1969 to 1970, Smith coached in the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
organization. The following year, he became the
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
' offensive line coach.
On November 17, 1971, Broncos head coach
Lou Saban
Louis Henry Saban (October 13, 1921 – March 29, 2009) was an American football player and coach. He played for Indiana University in college and as a professional for the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference between 1946 a ...
, who had also been Smith's boss in Boston and Buffalo, resigned and Smith was named his replacement for the season's last five games.
The Broncos posted a 2–3 record under Smith. Following the 1971 season, he became the
Houston Oilers
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...
' defensive line coach for 1972; after one season, he returned to the Browns and served multiple roles.
He coached the
San Diego Chargers' defensive line from 1977 through 1983. He received credit for developing the front four of
Fred Dean
Frederick Rudolph Dean (February 24, 1952 – October 14, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). A twice first-team All-Pro and a four-time Pro Bowler, he won two Super ...
,
Leroy Jones,
Louie Kelcher, and
Gary "Big Hands" Johnson
Gary Lynn "Big Hands" Johnson (August 31, 1952 – August 4, 2010) was an American professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He was a four-time All-Pro and a four-time Pro Bowl selection. He p ...
. Known as the
Bruise Brothers, the group helped the Chargers lead the NFL in
1980 with 60
sacks. Dean, Kelcher, and Johnson all started in the
1981 Pro Bowl
The 1981 Pro Bowl was the NFL's 31st annual all-star game which featured the outstanding performers from the 1980 season. The game was played on Sunday, February 1, 1981, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The final score was NFC 21, AFC 7 ...
.
Smith's health declined after suffering a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...
in 2007. He died at age 80 on August 6, 2011.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Jerry
1930 births
2011 deaths
American football offensive guards
Boston Patriots (AFL) coaches
Buffalo Bills coaches
Cleveland Browns executives
Denver Broncos coaches
Green Bay Packers players
Houston Oilers coaches
New Orleans Saints coaches
San Diego Chargers coaches
San Francisco 49ers players
Wisconsin Badgers football players
Players of American football from Dayton, Ohio
Denver Broncos head coaches