Homer Smith (American football)

Homer Smith

Biographical details
Born	(1931-10-09)October 9, 1931 Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Died	April 10, 2011(2011-04-10) (aged 79) Tuscaloosa, Alabama, U.S.
Playing career
1951–1953	Princeton
Position(s)	Fullback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1957	Stanford (JV)
1958–1959	Stanford (freshmen)
1960	Stanford (backfield)
1961–1964	Air Force (backfield)
1965–1969	Davidson
1970–1971	Pacific (CA)
1972–1973	UCLA (OC)
1974–1978	Army
1980–1986	UCLA (OC)
1987	Kansas City Chiefs (OC)
1988–1989	Alabama (OC)
1990–1993	UCLA (OC)
1994–1995	Alabama (OC)
1996–1997	Arizona (OC)
Head coaching record
Overall	53–71–1
Bowls	0–1
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1 SoCon (1969)
Awards
First-team All-Eastern (1952, 1953)

Homer Austin Smith (October 9, 1931 – April 10, 2011) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Davidson College (1965–1969), the University of the Pacific (1970–1971), and the United States Military Academy (1974–1978), compiling a career college football record 53–71–1 and a bowl record of 0–1. Smith was also the offensive coordinator at the University of California, Los Angeles (1972–1973, 1980–1986, 1990–1993), the University of Alabama (1988–1989, 1994–1995), and the University of Arizona (1996), and for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). In 1997, Smith was a finalist for the Broyles Award, given annually to the nation's top college football assistant coach.

Smith was named 1977 Eastern College Conference Coach of the Year and was presented an Outstanding Achievement Award by the American Football Coaches Association in 2006. As a player, he was a two-time All-East and All-Ivy League fullback at Princeton University. As a coach, Smith has his most success as offensive coordinator at UCLA where he paired with Terry Donahue to lead the Bruins to multiple Rose Bowls and top ten finishes.

In addition to his undergraduate degree from Princeton, he also received post-graduate degrees from Stanford Business School and Harvard Divinity School.^[1]

Smith died in 2011.^[2][3][4]

Head coaching record

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs
Davidson Wildcats (Southern Conference) (1965–1969)
1965	Davidson	6–4	2–3	T–5th
1966	Davidson	4–5	2–3	5th
1967	Davidson	4–5	1–5	8th
1968	Davidson	3–6	1–3	6th
1969	Davidson	7–4	5–1	T–1st	L Tangerine
Davidson:		24–24	11–15
Pacific Tigers (Pacific Coast Athletic Association) (1970–1971)
1970	Pacific	5–6	2–3	T–4th
1971	Pacific	3–8	1–4	6th
Pacific:		8–14	3–7
Army Cadets (NCAA Division I / I-A independent) (1974–1978)
1974	Army	3–8
1975	Army	2–9
1976	Army	5–6
1977	Army	7–4
1978	Army	4–6–1
Army:		21–33–1
Total:		53–71–1

References

1. Weber, Bruce (April 15, 2011). "Homer Smith, Innovative College Football Coach, Dies at 79". The New York Times.
2. "Homer Smith Dies at 79; Former UCLA Assistant Football Coach" Los Angeles Times Accessed April 13, 2011
3. Former Arizona offensive coordinator Homer Smith dies at 79 Tucson Citizen April 11, 2011
4. Homer Austin Smith, Tuscaloosa News, April 11, 2011

External links

• Homer Smith at Find a Grave