John L . Smith John L . Smith ( born November 15 , 1948 ) is an American college football coach , currently the head coach at Fort Lewis College in Durango , Colorado . He was the head coach at Arkansas during the 2012 season . Smith had been named head coach of his alma mater , Weber State , after the 2011 season , but left after spring drills to take over at Arkansas following the firing of Bobby Petrino in April 2012 . He was previously the head coach at Idaho ( 1989 – 1994 ) , Utah State ( 1995 – 1997 ) , Louisville ( 1998 – 2002 ) , and Michigan State ( 2003 – 2006 ) . Smith had also been an assistant at multiple programs , most recently at Arkansas under Petrino , where he was in charge of special teams from 2009 to 2011 . Entering the 2012 season , Smith has a career head coaching record of 132 – 86 . ( . 606 ) Early years and playing career . Born in Idaho Falls in eastern Idaho and raised in nearby Iona , Smith lettered in football , basketball , and track for the Bees at Bonneville High School , and graduated in 1967 . He played college football at Weber State College in Ogden , Utah , as both a linebacker and quarterback for the Wildcats in the Big Sky , then a Division II conference . Smith was a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity and graduated in 1971 with a bachelor ' s degree in physical education . Early coaching career . Smith began his coaching career in 1971 as a graduate assistant at his alma mater , Weber State . For the next 17 seasons , Smith was an assistant coach , first at Montana for five seasons ( 1972 – 76 ) and then at Nevada ( 1977 – 81 ) for five more as the defensive coordinator . He then joined Dennis Erickson as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach for seven seasons at three schools : Idaho ( 1982 – 85 ) , Wyoming ( 1986 ) , and Washington State ( 1987 – 88 ) . The middle initial " L " became part of his public moniker in 1982 , due to another John Smith on the athletic staff at Idaho , John G . Smith , the equipment manager and former head baseball coach . Head coach . After serving as an assistant head coach for Dennis Erickson for seven seasons , Smith began his head coaching career in 1989 at Idaho , where he posted a 53 – 21 record ( . 716 ) in six seasons . Under his leadership , the Idaho Vandals won two Big Sky championships and made the 16 - team NCAA Division I - AA playoffs five times , advancing to the national semifinals in 1993 . Smith ' s 53 wins are the most in school history . His starting salary at Idaho was under $ 60 , 000 , but in 1991 he became the first UI coach to be granted a multi - year contract . Smith inherited an 11 – 2 team from Keith Gilbertson that had made the I - AA semifinals in 1988 , and returned All - American quarterback in John Friesz . Despite losing the first two games of the 1989 season to Washington State and Portland State , Idaho went undefeated ( 8 – 0 ) in conference play , the only time in school history . The Vandals lost in the first round of the I - AA playoffs , and finished at 9 – 3 . Friesz won the Walter Payton Award and was drafted in 1990 by the San Diego Chargers and spent a decade in the NFL . Smith ' s next quarterback at Idaho was southpaw Doug Nussmeier , who threw for over 10 , 000 yards and won the Walter Payton Award in 1993 ; he was drafted in the fourth round by the New Orleans Saints in 1994 . In January 1995 , he left Moscow to move up to Division I - A at Utah State in the Big West , with a five - year contract exceeding $ 100 , 000 per year . He stayed in Logan with the Aggies for three seasons ( 16 – 18 , . 470 ) , then went east to Louisville , agreeing to a five - year deal at $ 375 , 000 per year . He put together a 41 – 21 record ( . 661 ) in five seasons ( 1998 – 2002 ) , including five straight bowl appearances and consecutive Conference USA titles in 2000 and 2001 . Under Smith ' s tutelage , quarterback Dave Ragone was a three - time Conference USA player of the year ( 2000 – 02 ) . Michigan State . After the 2002 season , Smith was hired as the head coach at Michigan State , which created controversy because Smith was hired before Louisville ' s bowl game that season , and he did not inform his Louisville players of the decision until halftime of the bowl game , which they lost to Marshall . 2003 . After opening his first season at Michigan State in 2003 with wins over Western Michigan and Rutgers , Smith ' s team was unable to hold off a series of late game drives by WAC member Louisiana Tech , losing a 20 – 19 decision . The Spartans ended the regular season 8 – 4 , and were then defeated by Nebraska , 17 – 3 , in the 2003 Alamo Bowl , a game which also featured the injury of the Spartans ' anticipated star quarterback Drew Stanton while he was playing on special teams . Smith was named the Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year in 2003 . 2004 . The second game of the 2004 season was the second of a " home - and - home " series against Rutgers , which the Spartans lost in New Jersey , 19 – 14 . The Spartans also lost to Notre Dame and dropped a three - overtime game against rival Michigan , but beat a top - 10 ranked Wisconsin team , 49 – 14 . The Spartans lost their final two games that season and did not receive a bowl invitation — the first time a Smith - coached team hadn ' t gone to a bowl since 1997 . 2005 . Michigan State began the 2005 season with a 4 – 0 record in non - conference play including an overtime win against Notre Dame in South Bend . However , the team was only able win one game in the Big Ten and finished the year 5 – 7 , losing several game by more than 28 points . The Spartans were again unable to beat Michigan , losing 34 – 31 in the second straight overtime game between the two schools . One of the most significant games of the season was against Ohio State . The Spartans had a brief 17 – 7 lead in the second quarter . With 24 seconds and no time outs remaining in the first half , Michigan State faced a second down and 12 yards to go at the Ohio State 17 yard - line . Michigan State tried a running play resulting in no gain . Facing third down , Michigan State likely could have easily spiked the ball to stop the clock . However , with the clock running , it was perceived by many fans and sports commentators that chaos reigned on the MSU sideline . The confusion resulted in Michigan State lining up on the field with only ten players . A field goal attempt was blocked , and returned by Ohio State for a touchdown to cut the lead to 17 – 14 . In half - time comments on ABC , Smith blamed the coaching staff remarking " That ' s a dang coaching mistake . . . the kids are playing their tail off , and the coaches are screwing it up ! " Michigan State finished the season 5 – 6 , and did not receive a bowl bid for the second straight year . 2006 . Michigan State began 2006 with three wins and then suffered an infamous late - game loss against Notre Dame . The Spartans led 37 – 21 midway through the fourth quarter , but , despite a raging thunderstorm , the Irish rallied for a 40 – 37 victory . This led to a now - famous video of John L . Smith slapping himself at the post - game press conference . The following week , Michigan State ' s homecoming game , the Spartans were defeated 23 – 20 by an Illinois team that had not won a Big Ten game since 2004 . After the game , players from both teams fought at midfield after several Illinois players tried to plant their flag at midfield of Spartan Stadium . In the post - game press conference , Smith admitted the coaches were having trouble motivating the players . Smith also slapped himself in the face as a reference to a claim by Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis who stated that he had been hit in the face during a sideline scrum earlier that season when his Fighting Irish played Michigan State . Following another defeat to Michigan , Michigan State hosted and lost 38 – 7 to top - ranked Ohio State . At halftime , Spartan Stadium had mostly emptied , with a large portion of the remaining attendees being Ohio State fans . MSU followed up those losses with a 41 – 38 win at Northwestern . The Spartans , down 38 – 3 in the middle of the third quarter , rallied for 38 unanswered points for the largest comeback in NCAA history . The Spartans then fell to Indiana the following week . On November 1 , Michigan State decided not to retain John L . Smith , and the remainder of his contract was bought out for $ 1 . 5 million . Smith and his coaching staff stayed on the job through the end of the 2006 season . Michigan State finished 4 – 8 ( 1 – 7 in the Big Ten ) . Smith was replaced by Mark Dantonio , previously the head coach of Cincinnati on November 27 . Smith had a record of 22 – 26 ( . 458 ) in his four seasons at Michigan State . Smith has compiled a record of 132 – 86 ( . 605 ) in his 18 years as a college head coach . 12 of his 18 teams have participated in postseason play , including seven straight from 1997 – 2003 . Smith is one of 18 head coaches in college football history to take three different teams to bowl games . A defensive coach for most of his career , Smith is also known as one of the disciples of the spread offense , learned from Dennis Erickson , which he introduced at Michigan State . Return to coaching : Arkansas . After two years of broadcasting , Smith returned to the sidelines in 2009 as the special teams coach at the University of Arkansas under head coach Bobby Petrino , his former assistant . Weber State . Following his third year at Arkansas , Smith left to lead his fifth Division I program at his alma mater , Weber State , an FCS program in the Big Sky Conference . Smith succeeded Ron McBride , who retired after seven seasons with the Wildcats . Smith coached the Wildcats through spring drills in 2012 . Arkansas . Prior to Smith ' s first season at Weber State , the University of Arkansas fired its head coach , and Smith ' s former colleague , Bobby Petrino . Almost immediately , there was considerable media speculation that Smith would return to Arkansas , and replace Petrino . This was confirmed less than two weeks after the firing of Petrino , when multiple media outlets reported that Smith would indeed return to Arkansas . He was introduced as Arkansas ' 29th full - time head coach the next day . The event was a reversal of roles as it was now Smith replacing Petrino as head coach ; Petrino succeeded Smith at Louisville following Smith ' s departure in 2003 . Smith signed a 10 - month contract , leading to speculation that he was only taking the post on an interim basis for the 2012 season . The Razorbacks ' formal announcement described him as " head coach , " without any qualifiers ; however , it also indicated that Smith ' s hiring would allow Arkansas to hire " a head coach for the future of the program " in a more appropriate timeframe following the 2012 season . On Saturday , November 24 , 2012 , the University of Arkansas announced that Smith would not be retained as head coach , but would serve as a consultant to the team until his contract ran out in February 2013 . Fort Lewis College . On January 16 , 2013 , it was announced that Smith had been hired as the head coach at Fort Lewis College , a Division II team in Durango , Colorado , effective March 1 . He takes over a Skyhawks program that went 0 – 10 in 2012 , last in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference ( RMAC ) . Personal life , family , and honors . Smith married the former Diana Flora on August 15 , 1970 , and they have three children : Nicholas , Kayse , and Sam . He is the uncle of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith . Smith has earned a reputation for his adventurous attitude and actions , including para - gliding with his children in Zermatt , Switzerland , climbing 19 , 340 - foot Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa , flying in a T - 38 Talon jet trainer in Texas at Randolph Air Force Base , skydiving from 14 , 000 feet over Greensburg , Indiana , and running with the bulls in Pamplona , Spain . In 2000 " Sports Illustrated " recognized Smith as one of Idaho ' s top 100 athletes of the 20th century . He was later inducted into the Idaho Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001 . Smith filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection on September 6 , 2012 . Smith said he began land investments when he was coach at Louisville from 1998 to 2002 , and that he and other investors lost money when the real estate market softened .