He had been named head coach of his alma mater, Weber State University, after the 2011 season, but left after spring drills to take over at Arkansas following the firing of Bobby Petrino in April 2012.
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).
Under his leadership, the 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.
His starting salary at Idaho was under $60,000, but after two seasons he became the first UI coach to be granted a multi-year contract, with a four-year deal in January 1991.
[4][5][6] 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.
Friesz won the Walter Payton Award, was drafted by the San Diego Chargers, and spent a decade in the National Football League (NFL).
Smith's next Vandal quarterback 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 January 1995, Smith 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.
[10][11][12] Inheriting a one-win team from 1997, the Cardinals improved to 7–5 in 1998 and were 41–21 (.661) through 2002, with five straight bowl appearances and consecutive Conference USA titles in 2000 and 2001.
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.
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.
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.
[19] Smith coached the Wildcats through spring drills in April, but left days later to replace Petrino at Arkansas, who had been recently fired.
[25] Coming off only the second 11-win season in school history, expectations were very high for the Razorbacks despite the acrimonious nature of Petrino's firing.
On November 24, the university 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.
On January 16, 2013, Smith was introduced as the head coach at Fort Lewis College, a Division II team in Durango, Colorado.
[28] On December 7, 2015, it was announced that Smith had been hired as the head coach at Kentucky State University in Frankfort, a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) in Division II.
[33] 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.
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.