Arthur Smith (American football coach)


Arthur William Smith is an American football offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League. He has also been an assistant coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels, Ole Miss Rebels, and Washington Redskins.

Early years

Smith was born in Memphis, Tennessee on May 27, 1982. Smith went to high school at Georgetown Preparatory School in North Bethesda, Maryland. There he played on the offensive line and was team captain. He also saw some action at defensive tackle. He also participated in track, lacrosse, and basketball. In his high school career, Smith was a first-team all-state selection at offensive line, two-time all-conference, and first-team All-Metro by The Washington Post.

College career

Smith was a guard for North Carolina from 2001 to 2005. He was a redshirt freshman in 2001. Smith only played in a single game for the 2002 season as he was diagnosed with a foot problem and did not play the remainder of the season. Smith had foot surgery in January 2003 and missed the entire 2003 season. Smith saw little action in 2004 and in 2005. After graduating in 2006, Smith became a graduate assistant for North Carolina.

Coaching career

Washington Redskins

Smith became the defensive quality control coach for the Washington Redskins in 2007. He would stay at that position through 2008.

Ole Miss

Smith was hired as a defensive intern and administrative assistant for Ole Miss in 2010.

Tennessee Titans

Smith was hired to become the defensive quality control coach for the Tennessee Titans in 2011 under new head coach Mike Munchak. Smith then became the offensive quality coach for the 2012 season. He was promoted to the assistant offensive line and assistant tight ends coach in 2013. Munchak was fired after the 2013 season and new head coach Ken Whisenhunt retained Smith as the assistant tight ends coach. Mid-way through the 2015 season, Whisenhunt was fired and replaced by tight ends coach Mike Mularkey. Mularkey was kept as head coach for the 2016 season and so was Smith as the new tight ends coach. When Mularkey was fired after the 2017 season, new head coach Mike Vrabel kept Smith as the tight ends coach for 2018.
On January 21, 2019, Smith was promoted to offensive coordinator, replacing Matt LaFleur, who departed to become head coach of the Green Bay Packers two weeks prior. In his first year as offensive coordinator, Smith oversaw the highest-scoring Titans team in 16 years, with Derrick Henry, Ryan Tannehill, and Jonnu Smith having career years. Arthur Smith was praised for his play-calling in the Titan's 28-12 win over the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Divisional Round.

Personal life

Smith's father is FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith. He and his wife, Allison, reside in Nashville with their three children, Tanner, Sophie, and William. He has eight siblings.