The Zeitgeist List · coaching

John Smith

John Smith held Arkansas at Power Program III for 1 season.

The ascent
83–73
1995–2012 · 4 stints
Utah StateLouisvilleMichigan StateArkansas
← all coaches

Career arc

His real stature score, season by season, across every program he’s coached — so a stretch that stays in one tier the whole way can still climb or sink on the line, not just flatten out. Node color marks the tier reached. Which program a stretch belongs to is carried by the shaded lane behind it.

Stature score reached, by season of his head-coaching careerUTAH STATELOUISVILLEMICHIGAN STATEARKANSASPower Programperennial contenderNational Programrespectable, streakyRegional Programthe building-block levelUtah State, 1995: 4-7, Regional Program IV1995Utah State, 1996: 6-5, Regional Program IV1996Utah State, 1997: 6-6, Regional Program III1997+4.7Louisville, 1998: 7-5, Regional Program I1998Louisville, 1999: 7-5, Regional Program I1999Louisville, 2000: 9-3, National Program III2000Louisville, 2001: 11-2, National Program II2001Louisville, 2002: 7-6, National Program II2002+7.4Michigan State, 2003: 8-5, Power Program III2003Michigan State, 2004: 5-7, National Program I2004Michigan State, 2005: 5-6, Power Program III2005Michigan State, 2006: 4-8, National Program I2006-0.7Arkansas, 2012: 4-8, Power Program III2012-2.0One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached Power Program in his 9th career season — faster than 10% of the 395 FBS coaches who have ever reached Power Program (rank #332 of 395 by seasons-to-arrival).

Utah State, 3 seasons
+4.7
Regional Program IV → Regional Program III.
Louisville, 5 seasons
+7.4
Regional Program I → National Program II.
Michigan State, 4 seasons
−0.7
Power Program III → National Program I.

The big-game ledger

How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.

8–13 against his rivals. Just 1–4 against Sonny Lubick.

Rivalry record
8–13
38.1% · 6 rivals
One-score games
21–33
38.9% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
0–1
0.0%
Rivalry ledger
Kentucky3–260%
Cincinnati4–180%
Michigan0–40%
Penn State1–325%
BYU0–20%
LSU0–10%
The toughest matchupNemesis
vs. Sonny Lubick1–4
5 meetings, 1995–2002
’95 L’97 L’00 L’01 W’02 L
Performance by opponent class
Dynasty
0–1 0.0%
Blue Blood
1–10 9.1%
Power Program
7–15 31.8%
National Program
17–21 44.7%
Regional Program
49–24 67.1%

Coaching career

2012–2012
Arkansascaretaker
Power Program III → Power Program III
John Smith held Arkansas at Power Program III for 1 season.

7th-best Arkansas tenure of 22 by the numbers.

Succeeded by Bret Bielema (2013–2017).

Where the roster comes from, by position
Grows Cornerback from high school
100%
#225 of 236 stints
Grows Wide receiver from high school
100%
#230 of 243 stints

8 NFL Draft picks: Jake Bequette (2012), Joe Adams (2012), Jarius Wright (2012), Greg Childs (2012), Knile Davis (2013), Tyler Wilson (2013), Cobi Hamilton (2013), Chris Gragg (2013)

4–8
2003–2006
Michigan Statecaretaker
Power Program III → National Program I
John Smith slid Michigan State from Power Program III to National Program I in 4 seasons.

12th-best Michigan State tenure of 16 by the numbers.

Followed Bobby Williams (2000–2002) · succeeded by Mark Dantonio (2007–2019).

13 NFL Draft picks: Charles Rogers (2003), Matthias Askew (2004), Jeff Smoker (2004), DeAndra Cobb (2005), Dave Rayner (2005), Kevin Vickerson (2005), Will Whitticker (2005), Eric Smith (2006) + 5 more

22–26
1998–2002
Louisvillecaretaker
Regional Program I → National Program II
John Smith moved Louisville from Regional Program I to National Program II in 5 seasons.

8th-best Louisville tenure of 15 by the numbers.

Followed Ron Cooper (1995–1997) · succeeded by Bobby Petrino (2003–2017).

8 NFL Draft picks: Chris Redman (2000), Frank Moreau (2000), Rashad Holman (2001), Deion Branch (2002), Dewayne White (2003), Dave Ragone (2003), Curry Burns (2003), Chris Johnson (2003)

41–21
1995–1997
Utah Statecaretaker
Regional Program IV → Regional Program III
John Smith moved Utah State from Regional Program IV to Regional Program III in 3 seasons.

13th-best Utah State tenure of 22 by the numbers.

Followed Charlie Weatherbie (1992–1994) · succeeded by Dave Arslanian (1998–1999).

16–18