Chuck Smith (American football coach)

Last updated

Chuck Smith
Chuck Smith.png
Smith Coaching at Boyle County
Biographical details
Born (1957-12-21) December 21, 1957 (age 67)
Louisville, Kentucky
Education Jeffersontown High School, University of Kentucky
Occupation(s)High school and college football coach
Years active1983–2019
SpouseJackie Smith
Children2
Playing career
1978–1980 Kentucky
Position(s) Linebacker
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1983–1986Mercer County 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]
Head coaching record
Overall234–69 [2]
Bowls6–2
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
  • 6 KHSAA state (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2017) [3]
Awards
  • 5x Courier-Journal Coach of the Year (1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2019) [4]
  • NFHS Coach of the Year (2003) [5]
  • Kentucky Football Coaches Association 4A coach of the year (2019) [6]

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]

Contents

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

Smith as the head coach at Campbellsville High School Chuck Smith Campbellsville.jpg
Smith as the head coach at Campbellsville High School

Shortly after Smith's playing career at Kentucky, Smith began his coaching career at Mercer county High School as an assistant under long-time coach Larry French. After three years with the Scotties, 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

Danny Trevathan, who Smith coached at Kentucky Danny Trevathan.JPG
Danny Trevathan, who Smith coached at 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

After leaving Kentucky, Smith had a one-year stint as defensive coordinator at Bardstown High School. In 2014, Smith accepted the head coaching job at Madison Central High School. [11] However, that was short-lived because less than three weeks later Smith resigned. Following Smith's resignation from Madison Central, Smith returned to head coaching at Boyle County due to the departure of former Boyle head coach Larry French. [12] During Smith's second tenure with the Rebels, he compiled 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.

YearTeamOverallBowl/playoffs Litkenhous#MaxPreps°
Allen County Scottsville (Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA))(1987)
1987Allen County Scottsville6–5
Allen County Scottsville:6-5
Boyle County Rebels (Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA))(1992–2004)
1992Boyle County7–4
1993Boyle County2–8
1994Boyle County9–4
1995Boyle County10–3
1996Boyle County11–3
1997Boyle County11–1
1998Boyle County7–5L 2nd round of KHSAA 2A playoffs to Lexington Catholic 28–13.
1999Boyle County15–0W KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl
2000Boyle County15–0W KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl
2001Boyle County15–0W KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl
2002Boyle County13–2W KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl
2003Boyle County15–0W KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl
2004Boyle County13–2L KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl 3
Boyle County Rebels (Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA))(2014–2019)
2014Boyle County11–2L 3rd round of KHSAA 4A playoffs to Lexington Catholic 40–35.36
2015Boyle County10–2L 2nd round of KHSAA 3A playoffs to Central 27–14.1020
2016Boyle County7–5L 2nd round of KHSAA 3A playoffs to Central 37–6.52
2017Boyle County14–1W 3A KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl 22
2018Boyle County13–1L 3A State Semifinals 21–0 to Corbin 913
2019Boyle County14–1L 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. Brandon is the head coach at South Warren High School in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where he has won two KHSAA state championships. [13]

Notable players coached by Chuck Smith

Boyle County

Future NFL tight end Jacob Tamme playing for Boyle County High School. Jacob Tamme Boyle.jpg
Future NFL tight end Jacob Tamme playing for Boyle County High School.

Kentucky

Former Kentucky linebacker Wesley Woodyard. Wesley Woodyard 2018 08-09.jpg
Former Kentucky linebacker Wesley Woodyard.

References

  1. 1 2 Zubaty, Peter W. (January 23, 2014). "FOOTBALL: A well-respected man". The Kentucky Standard . Archived from the original on October 29, 2018.
  2. ↑ "KHSAA Top Kentucky Football Coaching Wins List" (PDF). KHSAA. January 13, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Past KHSAA State Football Champions" (PDF). KHSAA. January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 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 .
  5. ↑ "Coach Awards". National Federation of State High School Associations . January 21, 2021.
  6. ↑ "KFCA Awards". Kentucky High School Coaches Association (www.khsca.net). January 21, 2021.
  7. ↑ "UK hires ex-Boyle County coach to head LBs". Kentucky New Era . Lexington. Associated Press. December 22, 2004.
  8. 1 2 "The legacy of the 1999–2003 Champion Rebels". Harrodsburg Herald . August 19, 2020.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Chuck Smith Joins UK Football Staff". University of Kentucky Athletics (Press release). December 21, 2004.
  10. ↑ "Kentucky's Mr. Football". Kentucky Football Coaches Association. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Central introduces Chuck Smith as new football coach". Richmond Register. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  12. ↑ "BOYLE COUNTY & CHUCK SMITH A CHAMPIONSHIP COMBO". KHSAA. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  13. ↑ Overing, Matt (November 21, 2018). "A winning family tradition: Father/Son duo Chuck and Brandon Smith leading undefeated seasons". The Advocate-Messenger .
  14. ↑ Tamme, Jacob (April 6, 2016). "Wildcat at Heart". The Players' Tribune .
  15. ↑ Overing, Matt (November 29, 2017). "Boyle County alum Neal Brown living large at Troy". The Advocate-Messenger .
  16. ↑ Leedy, Nancy (May 17, 2018). "Leffew resigns as LCHS football coach". The Interior Journal (theinteriorjournal.com).
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