Otis Smith III (born October 22, 1965) is 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 ...

coach and former

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

, and currently defensive coordinator of the

Helvetic Guards The Helvetic Guards are an American football team based in Zurich, Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such a ...

Early years

Smith attended

East Jefferson High School East Jefferson High School is a public high school located in Metairie in unincorporated Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States. It serves portions of Metairie and Kenner.Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

as a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...

in 1990. He spent five seasons with the team before joining the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The ...

in 1995. He signed with the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

, starting nine games, including the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

and

Super Bowl XXXI Super Bowl XXXI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...

loss to the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the t ...

. During his first stint with the Patriots, Smith was perhaps best remembered by Patriots fans for recovering a fumble in the 1996 AFC Title Game against the Jaguars. Smith returned it 47 yards for a touchdown, which made the score 20–6 and effectively put the game away, pushing the Patriots to their second ever Super Bowl appearance. He rejoined the Jets in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

and was re-signed by New England just before the 2000 season. Smith was a contributor to the Patriots winning the Super Bowl XXXVI in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, when his

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team ...

set up a key field goal against the St. Louis Rams. The last team he played for was the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

in the 2003 season. He retired as a member of the

on May 18, 2005.

Coaching career

Smith agreed to join Andy Reid's staff in Philadelphia in January 2008 as an assistant secondary coach for the Eagles. It is similar to a position he held in New England as a member of the Patriots organization as part of the NFL's minority coaching fellowship program. On June 17, 2009, an Eagles spokesperson confirmed that Smith would not be returning as an Eagles assistant for the 2009 season. On February 1, 2010 the Kansas City Chiefs announced that Smith would join their staff as defensive quality control coach. On June 12, 2019, Smith was named DB coach for the Los Angeles Wildcats. On September 2, 2022, Smith became the defensive coordinator for European League of Football team

Zürich Helvetic Guards The Helvetic Guards are an American football team based in Zurich, Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such a ...

References

External links

Philadelphia Eagles bio page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Otis 1965 births East Jefferson High School alumni American football cornerbacks American expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Detroit Lions players Living people Los Angeles Wildcats coaches Missouri Tigers football players New England Patriots players New York Jets players Philadelphia Eagles coaches Philadelphia Eagles players Players of American football from New Orleans