Bio

Now in his sixth season as defensive line coach, Rod Smith has a Gulf Coast national championship on his resume and continues to elevate players to four-year schools. The Bulldogs sent five D-linemen to the Next Level in 2022 and a total of 21 in his first five years, including 12 to FBS schools and two to Power 5 teams.

In 2022, the Bulldogs sacked the quarterback 34 times, 10^th-most in the country.

In 2021, Gulf Coast was the fifth-stingiest team in the country against the pass (138.0 yards per game).

The 2020 Bulldogs ranked in the top 10 in total defense and had the nation’s sixth-ranked run defense.

The 2019 Gulf Coast team led the country in total defense (191.1 yards per game) and was third in passing defense (128.9 ypg) and fourth in rushing defense (60.9 ypg). The Regulators allowed only 12.3 points per game, second-best in the country.

The 2018 defense ranked second in the NJCAA in passing yards (116.8 ypg) and fifth in scoring defense (15.7 ppg). The Bulldogs allowed only six touchdowns passing.

Smith was an assistant overseeing the defensive line and linebackers and also working with special teams at Mississippi College from 2013-2017. He also served as Director of Operations for the Choctaws.

Before that, he was on the staff at Memphis, his alma mater, for five years. Smith served as a graduate assistant with linebackers and defensive backs from 2009 to 2013.

He played at Memphis from 2004-06, appearing in 28 games and making 13 starts. Smith’s playing career was cut short when he sustained a severe neck injury in a game against Arkansas State. He earned four letters, was team captain and won the Top Tiger Award in 2008.

Smith graduated in 2008 with a bachelor’s in education. He is married to Moriah, an admissions specialist at the college, and they have twin daughters Andrea and Bryiah, 10.