Oct. 30, 2005
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Rob Smith, the most successful coach in the history of Western Washington University football and the longest-tenured gridiron coach in the northwest, is leaving at the conclusion of the season.
Smith, 48, is in his 17th year as the Vikings' head coach. Entering Saturday's season finale against Western Oregon at Civic Stadium, he has a 109-61-1 record, holding the Western record for victories and winning percentage (.643), and ranks third in victories behind only Frosty Westering and Don James among collegiate coaches in the state of Washington.
Smith informed his assistant coaches of his decision to resign following a 31-28 loss to Central Washington in the Cascade Cup game Saturday, and told the Viking players in a meeting Sunday evening.
"It's something that I've been thinking about for quite some time," said Smith. "I feel like a change is in order both for me and the program. In terms of `Why now?,' I've asked myself that ... I had made my mind up last week as to what my decision would be. I just decided that this would be the time to make the announcement.
"You can't find the adrenalin of game day or the emotions of game day anywhere else. At least, I know that I won't be able to, and I'll miss that. But for whatever reason, I've found myself not enjoying the wins as much as I should, and the losses still hit at the core. That's a signal that tells me it's time."
Smith arrived at Western as an assistant coach in 1987 and immediately helped a program that had suffered through nine consecutive losing seasons post two winning campaigns. He became head coach in 1989, leading the Vikings to a 7-2 record, at the time the best in 38 years.
Over his 17 seasons, Smith earned conference Coach of the Year honors seven times - five in the Columbia Football Association and two in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. He was the American Football Coaches Association College Division Region V Coach of the Year in 1995 and 1996.
"We've been fortunate to have had such an outstanding coach and person as Rob Smith heading our football program for 17 years," said Western director of athletics Lynda Goodrich. "He brought an unprecedented standard of excellence to the program.
"It is really difficult to take a program that is not a winner and transform it into a winner. But he had a vision for what it could be. He should take great pride in the program he developed."
Smith has led Western to five playoff berths, the only ones in school history, and its first playoff victory in 1994. The Vikings reached the NAIA Division II national championship game in 1996, winning a school-record 11 games that year. In 1995, Western was 9-0 in the regular season, its first undefeated regular season since 1938, and was ranked No.1 in the NAIA II National Poll for five weeks, including in the final poll of the season.
In his first 16 seasons, Smith led Western to 12 winning records. For some perspective, prior to his arrival as an assistant, the Vikings had 12 winning seasons in 37 years. Smith directed 12 consecutive non-losing seasons (1991-2002), 10 of them winning campaigns. The previous longest such streak for Western was only seven years, immediately following World War II.
Western won six league titles under Smith, the only seven in nearly 90 years of competition prior to his arrival.
In 2000, Smith was named the co-football Coach of the Century for Western, sharing the honor with NAIA Hall of Famer Charles Lappenbusch, who coached the Vikings for 20 years.
"I'm most proud of the reputation this program now has throughout the Northwest, and to some extent at the national level," Smith said. "It wasn't that way in 1987. But I think I leave the program in very good shape. I think I leave it with a level of respect that I feel good about."
Smith attended Hoquiam High School, where he is a member of the Grizzlies Roll of Honor. He led the state in touchdowns with 20 as a senior, and also had 11 pass interceptions. He was a three-year letter winner at the University of Washington, seeing action in the 1978 Rose Bowl and graduating in 1981. When he became Western's coach in 1989, he was the first Don James-coached Husky to become a collegiate head coach.
"It's been a good ride, it really has," said Smith. "I've enjoyed it. It's been a great thing for not just me, but my family. But as a coach, you tend to spend more time with other people's kids, than you do your own, and I think it's time that I spent more time with mine.
"At this point I don't see myself coaching next year. I'm obviously going to take some time to reflect on what's next. I've talked to some people and have some possibilities, but we'll wait and see."
Goodrich said a search for a new head coach would begin immediately.
Head coach Rob Smith to resign
Holds Western record for most football wins with 109
DAVID RASBACH, THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
Rob Smith, the football coach at Western Washington the past 17 years, will resign at the end of the season, the school announced in a release Sunday night.
Smith, 48, will enter Saturday's season finale against Western Oregon at Civic Stadium with a 109-61-1 record, holding the school record for wins and winning percentage (.643).
"It's something that people who know me know I've been thinking about for a while," Smith said in a phone interview. "It felt like I was at a point after 17 years where I wanted to step aside and take my life in a different direction and allow the program to grow under new leadership."
Smith previously had discussed his thoughts about stepping down with WWU athletic director Lynda Goodrich, but she said she did not know he was going to make the move for sure until Saturday.
"He's a good coach, he's dedicated, and he has high ethical standards," Goodrich said in a phone interview. "Those are great qualities that will be missed."
Smith said he is not sure what he will do next, but he wants to spend more time with his family and he does not see himself coaching elsewhere next season.
"You can't find the adrenalin of game day or the emotions of game day anywhere else," he said in the WWU release. "At least, I know that I won't be able to, and I'll miss that.
"But for whatever reason, I've found myself not enjoying the wins as much as I should, and the losses still hit at the core. That's a signal that tells me it's time."
Smith arrived at WWU as an assistant coach in 1987 and immediately helped turn around a team coming off nine consecutive losing seasons. He was hired as head coach in 1989 and led the Vikings to a 7-2 record, which was the team's best in 38 years.
Since then, Smith has earned conference coach of the year honors seven times (five in the Columbia Football Association and twice in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference) and was selected the American Football Coaches Association College Division Region V Coach of the Year in 1995 and '96.
He also led the Vikings to the only five playoff appearances in school history and their first playoff victory in 1994. In 1996 WWU reached the NAIA Division II national championship game after winning a school-record 11 games.
"It's not easy to take a program that has not had a winning tradition and turn it into a winner," Goodrich said. "But he did it. He set a high standard of excellence for the program."
Smith led the Vikings to winning records in 12 of his first 16 seasons at the helm, matching the number the school had in 37 seasons before he arrived as an assistant coach.
He led Western to a 9-0 regular-season record in 1995 and a No. 1 ranking in the NAIA II National Poll for five weeks, including in the final poll of the season. In all, Western won six league titles under Smith.
"The first playoff game and, of course, the national championship game, those are great times that I will always remember," said Goodrich, who also said she will miss Smith's passion for the program and the school as well as his sense of humor.
Goodrich said the school plans to honor Smith, but those discussions have just begun.
The search for Smith's replacement is also expected to begin immediately, according to the release.
"Hopefully we can fill it quickly," she said. "The season is almost over, and it's an important time for recruiting."
Smith, who ranks third in victories behind only Frosty Westering and Don James among collegiate coaches in the state of Washington, said in the release that he is proud of what he accomplished during his tenure and the program he helped establish.
"I'm very proud that we've given Western Washington a strong reputation in the Northwest and, in some respect, on the national level," Smith said.
"The most important thing I will remember will be the players I worked with and the relationships I have developed. I have had an opportunity to work with some special people."
SMITH'S WESTERN WINS...
1989#1 Sept. 16 24 @Whitworth 9#2 Sept. 23 41 Western Oregon 6#3 Oct. 7 46 @Simon Fraser 18#4 Oct. 14 48 Willamette 7#5 Oct. 21 38 @Eastern Oregon 16#6 Nov. 4 43 Puget Sound 15#7 Nov. 11 27 @Linfield 24
1990#8 Sept. 22 30 @Western Oregon 22#9 Oct. 6 14 Simon Fraser 7#10 Oct. 20 42 Eastern Oregon 33
1991#11 Sept. 21 35 Western Oregon 7#12 Oct. 5 26 @Simon Fraser 21#13 Oct. 19 27 Puget Sound 9#14 Nov. 2 30 @Pacific 10#15 Nov. 9 17 Whitworth 3
1992#16 Sept. 19 27 @Western Oregon 10#17 Sept. 26 31 Eastern Oregon 17#18 Oct. 17 28 @Puget Sound 0#19 Oct. 24 34 Lewis & Clark 6#20 Oct. 31 24 British Columbia 14#21 Nov. 7 39 @Whitworth 14#22 Nov. 14 37 Central Washington 7
1993#23 Sept. 18 30 Western Oregon 13#24 Sept. 25 37 Willamette 28#25 Oct. 9 52 @Southern Oregon 26#26 Oct. 16 43 Whitworth 30#27 Oct. 23 31 @Puget Sound 13#28 Oct. 30 13 Simon Fraser 9
1994#29 Sept. 17 31 @Western Oregon 7#30 Sept. 24 42 @Willamette 14#31 Oct. 1 40 Southern Oregon 20#32 Oct. 15 45 @Whitworth 0#33 Oct. 22 48 Puget Sound 3#34 Oct. 29 42 @Simon Fraser 3#35 Nov. 12 10 Central Washington 3#36 Nov. 19 21 @Linfield 2
1995#37 Sept. 16 30 Pacific Lutheran 26#38 Sept. 23 52 @Puget Sound 7#39 Sept. 30 36 Whitworth 7#40 Oct. 7 20 @Linfield 13#41 Oct. 14 54 Southern Oregon 6#42 Oct. 21 19 Central Washington 16#43 Oct. 28 56 @Eastern Oregon 13#44 Nov. 4 45 Simon Fraser 0#45 Nov. 11 37 Western Oregon 21
1996#46 Sept. 21 34 @Pacific Lutheran 17#47 Sept. 28 40 Puget Sound 0#48 Oct. 5 56 @Whitworth 13#49 Oct. 12 32 Linfield 14#50 Oct. 19 21 @Southern Oregon 14#51 Nov. 2 25 Eastern Oregon 6#52 Nov. 9 22 Simon Fraser 0#53 Nov. 16 28 @Western Oregon 20#54 Nov. 23 21 Pacific Lutheran 20 OT#55 Dec. 7 13 Willamette 12#56 Dec. 14 28 @Findlay OH 21
1997#57 Sept. 13 35 Chapman CA 0#58 Sept. 27 28 @Linfield 17#59 Oct. 11 45 @Humboldt State 7#60 Oct. 25 31 Simon Fraser 0#61 Nov. 15 27 Southern Oregon 26
1998#62 Sept. 12 21 @Chapman 14#63 Sept. 26 40 Western Montana 10#64 Oct. 3 36 Humboldt State 17#65 Oct. 24 44 @Simon Fraser 0#66 Oct. 31 41 @Western Oregon 36
1999#67 Sept. 18 45 Wisconsin-Whitewater14#68 Sept. 25 20 Saint Mary's CA 7#69 Oct. 2 49 Western New Mexico 21#70 Oct. 9 45 @Simon Fraser 0#71 Oct. 16 27 @Central Washington 7#72 Oct. 23 26 Chadron State NE 14#73 Oct. 30 58 @Humboldt State 0#74 Nov. 6 21 Western Oregon 20
2000#75 Sept. 9 30 @Saint Mary's CA 20#76 Sept. 16 41 West Texas A&M 17#77 Sept. 23 62 Western Montana 3#78 Sept. 30 35 Central Washington 22#79 Oct. 7 49 Western New Mexico 7#80 Oct. 28 55 Simon Fraser 13#81 Nov. 4 42 Humboldt State 7
2001#82 Sept. 8 48 @Fort Lewis CO 10#83 Sept. 15 77 Montana-Western 0#84 Sept. 29 17 @Cal Poly 9#85 Oct. 6 45 South Dakota State 28#86 Oct. 13 36 Central Washington 14#87 Oct. 20 41 Humboldt State 7#88 Oct. 27 24 @New Haven CT 21#89 Nov. 3 46 Western Oregon 14
2002#90 Sept. 5 24 @Central Oklahoma 16#91 Sept. 14 52 Fort Lewis CO 14#92 Sept. 28 31 @Saint Mary's CA 28#93 Oct. 5 62 Western New Mexico 13#94 Oct. 26 27 Humboldt State 7#95 Nov. 9 20 Western Oregon 17 (OT3)
2003#96 Sept. 27 42 Saint Mary's CA 35#97 Oct. 25 17 CENTRAL WASHINGTON 16#98 Nov. 1 34 at Humboldt State 20#99 Nov. 15 17 WESTERN OREGON 13
2004#100 Sept. 4 27 FORT LEWIS CO 25#101 Sept.18 31 NEBRASKA-OMAHA 21#102 Sept.25 28 CENTRAL WASHINGTON 21#103 Oct. 9 42 ST.JOSEPH'S IN 13#104 Oct. 23 49 WESTERN OREGON 0#105 Nov. 6 55 HUMBOLDT STATE 20
2005#106 Aug. 27 49 MESA STATE CO 20#107 Oct. 1 21 HUMBOLDT STATE 16#108 Oct. 15 38 WESTERN OREGON 16#109 Oct. 22 28 HUMBOLDT STATE 24
