Rod Smith (born February 22, 1973) 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 with ...

coach and former player who is currently the offensive coordinator at

Jacksonville State University Jacksonville State University (JSU) is a public university in Jacksonville, Alabama. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in six academic schools leading to bachelor's degree, bachelor's, master's degree, master's, educati ...

. Prior to that, he was an offensive analyst at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. Smith has also served as the interim head coach,

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...

and quarterbacks coach at the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Universit ...

Playing career

Smith played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

as a quarterback at Glenville State College from 1993 to 1996, where he played for head coach Rich Rodriguez.

Coaching career

After graduating from Glenville State in 1997, Smith was hired to be the offensive coordinator on his father's coaching staff at Franklin High School in West Virginia. He spent time as the offensive coordinator at both

Urbana University Urbana University was a private university specializing in liberal arts education and located in Urbana, Ohio. In its final few years, it was purchased by Franklin University and was a branch campus of that university. History Urbana University ...

in Ohio and

West Virginia Tech West Virginia University Institute of Technology (WVU Tech, WVIT, WVU Beckley, or West Virginia Tech) is a public college in Beckley, West Virginia. It is a divisional campus of West Virginia University. History The college was founded in 189 ...

before reuniting with Rodriguez at both Clemson and West Virginia as a graduate assistant. He was hired by Jim Leavitt to be the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach at

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

and was promoted to offensive coordinator for the 2005 season. Smith resigned from South Florida after the 2006 season to reunite with Rich Rodriguez at West Virginia as the team's quarterbacks coach.

Michigan

Smith was named the quarterbacks coach at Michigan in 2008 after Rich Rodriguez was named the head coach.

Indiana

After Rodriguez was fired from Michigan in 2010, Smith spent the 2011 season on Kevin Wilson's staff at Indiana as a co-offensive coordinator and the quarterbacks coach.

Arizona

After Rodriguez was hired to be the head coach Arizona in 2012, Smith joined Rodriguez's staff as the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Smith was a nominee for the Broyles Award given annually to the nation's top assistant coach, after the 2017 season at Arizona.

Illinois

After Rodriguez was fired from Arizona in 2018, Smith departed the Arizona coaching staff to join Lovie Smith's coaching staff at Illinois. He was named the interim head coach after Smith was terminated on December 13, 2020.

Virginia

Smith was hired by Virginia as an offensive analyst prior to the 2021 season, where he works with Offensive Coordinator

Robert Anae Robert Anae (born December 21, 1958) is an American football coach and former player who is current serving as the offensive coordinator (OC) for NC State since December 2022. Prior to NC State, he was the OC at the University of Virginia and Bri ...

. As of October 29, 2021, the Cavaliers lead the nation in passing offense. He left after the 2021 season.

Penn State

Smith was hired as an offensive analyst at

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

in 2022.

Jacksonville State

Smith was named the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at

Jacksonville State Jacksonville State University (JSU) is a public university in Jacksonville, Alabama. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in six academic schools leading to bachelor's, master's, education specialist, and doctorate degrees ...

on June 12, 2022.

Personal life

Smith and his wife Charlene have two children, Alex and Sasha. Alex is currently a defensive back at West Liberty University's football team.

Head coaching record

‡ Served as interim HC

References

External links

*
Illinois profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Rod 1973 births Living people American football quarterbacks Arizona Wildcats football coaches Clemson Tigers football coaches Glenville State Pioneers football players Illinois Fighting Illini football coaches Indiana Hoosiers football coaches Jacksonville State Gamecocks football coaches Michigan Wolverines football coaches South Florida Bulls football coaches Urbana Blue Knights football coaches Virginia Cavaliers football coaches West Virginia Mountaineers football coaches West Virginia Tech Golden Bears football coaches High school football coaches in West Virginia People from Franklin, West Virginia Coaches of American football from West Virginia Players of American football from West Virginia