Former UT lineman Smith completes Dooley's staff
sports@thedailytimes.comOriginally published: February 06. 2010 3:01AM
Last modified: February 06. 2010 12:01AM
KNOXVILLE — New Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley completed his staff Friday with a familiar face, adding former UT defensive end Chuck Smith as the team’s ninth and final assistant coach.
A press release announcing Smith’s hiring did not specify his position, but he’s expected to be the Volunteers’ defensive line coach.
Smith, 40, spent the past year with the New York Jets, serving as pass rush specialist and assistant defensive line coach for the NFL’s top-ranked defense.
“I’m just excited about this opportunity to be a part of a program that believes not only in winning championships but also having champions off the field,” Smith said in the press release. “Integrity always will be one of our goals.”
The native of Athens, Ga., where he was a teammate of Dooley’s at Clarke Central High School in the 1980s, also played nine seasons with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers.
Jets head coach Rex Ryan first hired Smith as Baltimore’s pass rush coach in 2008 when Ryan was the Ravens’ defensive coordinator.
Smith built his coaching reputation as a defensive line specialist throughout the previous decade. He has personally taught, trained and mentored nearly 60 NFL players over the last five seasons.
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