Jan. 30, 2008
ARCATA, Calif. - Former Western Washington University head football coach Rob Smith has been selected as the new head football coach at Humboldt State University, Dr. Steven Butler, HSU Vice President for Student Affairs announced Wednesday.
The announcement follows an exhaustive process that began with a nationwide search. According to Butler, the process brought in a rich pool of candidates, including the two finalists interviewed during the last two weeks.
"We're very pleased that Coach Smith has accepted the offer," Butler said. "We're very grateful to the faculty, staff, student and community representatives of the search committee who worked expeditiously to evaluate the candidates."
Smith becomes the 15th head coach in the history of the Lumberjack football program, which dates back to 1924. He replaces Doug Adkins, who resigned in November following eight years as head coach.
"Rob brings extensive experience as a Division II head coach, along with a record of student-athlete success in the classroom and on the field," said HSU Director of Athletics Dan Collen, who made the final recommendation to hire. "He also possesses the knowledge and enthusiasm that will energize our program."
Smith, who has served as director of athletics at Grays Harbor Community College, for the last two years, stepped away from his position at WWU following the 2005 season. During his 17-year career as the Vikings' head coach, Smith's teams posted a cumulative record of 109-62-1 for a .640 winning percentage . His wins total and winning percentage are the best in school history. A total of 48 athletes earned All-America recognition during his tenure.
"I want to thank President Richmond, Vice President Steven Butler, and Athletic Director Dan Collen for this opportunity, and for the confidence that they have shown in me," Smith said. "Humboldt State has a rich football tradition, and I look forward to working with our administration, alumni, students and our large fan base to elevate HSU football to a level of which everyone can be proud."
Smith also guided the Vikings to five national playoff appearances, including a trip to the NAIA Division II National Championship game in 1996. Smith directed Western to the school's first national playoff appearance in 1992 and its first postseason trip as a NCAA Division II member in 1999.
The Vikings won six league titles under Smith, nearly half the school's total of 13. He was named Columbia Football Association Coach of the Year in 1989, 1995, 1996, 1999 and 2000 and Great Northwest Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2001 and 2003.
Upon his arrival on Feb. 6, Smith will begin preparation for spring ball, which begins in April. He'll also address recruiting, while taking time to meet boosters, the campus community and fans.
Smith attended the University of Washington, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1981, lettering three years as a fullback and playing in the 1978 Rose Bowl.
Smith and wife Wendy have two children, daughter Alison, 13 and son Jared, 8.
Humboldt State posted a 2-8 record last season as an NCAA Division II independent. The Lumberjacks will compete this year in the Great Northwest Football Conference, which will offer football again after a two-year absence.
Movin' on down the coast: Smith picked to head HSU football team
by Sean Quincey, The Times-Standard
Humboldt State football is entering a new era, and the team finally has a face to lead them there.
Rob Smith, former 17-year head coach at Western Washington, was offered the same position at HSU on Tuesday evening, and on Wednesday morning he accepted.
He becomes the 15th head coach in the Jacks football program, which dates back to 1924.
"They called me (Tuesday) evening at about 6 p.m. and extended the offer at that time. I talked it over with my wife and kids, you've got to have them on board. They've been on board since the beginning," Smith said in a phone interview. "We all agreed, and on (Wednesday) morning I accepted the offer. I am excited to join HSU and I can't wait to get to work."
The hire is easily the biggest move by the HSU athletics department since naming Doug Adkins as the head football coach in 2000.
It comes at a time when the Jacks will re-enter the Great Northwest Athletic Conference after competing for the past two years unaffiliated with a league. The GNAC could become bigger than its ever been as a few Candian schools, and possibly an Arizona team, could join as early as 2009.
"It's a new era for football at HSU," Jacks Athletic Director Dan Collen said.
Smith, who is currently the Athletic Director at Grays Harbor Community College (WA), said he will move down to the North Coast immediately, while his family will finish out the school year and join him here in the summer.
Smith's first day on the job will be Feb. 6, a date that coincides with national signing day for high school seniors. His relatively late arrival, combined with the fact that he said, during his on-campus interview last week, that HSU must build its program with four-year players, means he will have to hustle to salvage a decent recruiting class.
He will also have to hustle to assemble a coaching staff, and it appears that the three current full-time coaches at HSU -- offensive coordinator Brian Harris, defensive coordinator Shay McClure and offensive line coach Jason White -- are on the road to being replaced.
Collen said that the school opened a 30-day national search for three assistant coaching positions on Wednesday, and that the current coaches are welcomed to apply for their old jobs.
For Smith, bringing in his own guys was a vital part of his success at WWU, where he won 109 career games, six league titles and was voted conference coach of the year seven times.
"The most important task I have is to put together a quality group of assistant coaches," Smith said on Wednesday. "It starts with the coaching staff. It's the staff that does the teaching and works on a daily basis with the players we bring in. It's always been my feeling that you have to start with coaches who share your vision and philosophy you have for that program, and that's what I'll do."
Smith, who enters an HSU football program that has roughly one-third the scholarship dollars as WWU and other top schools in the GNAC, said he left the Humboldt County the week of his on-campus interview confident that the Jacks would be in a better financial situation soon.
"There is a lot of work to be done, certainly, but one of the other things that impressed me was the passionate group of boosters I met with," Smith said. "I got a real sense last week that the support is out there. My job as the football coach is to make the program into something they want to support."
Jacks football was anything but that last year as HSU went 2-8 and put the cap on former Adkins' eight-year run, which ended with his resignation on Nov. 15. It was HSU's eighth losing season since 1997.
The naming of Adkins' successor was long-awaited as HSU fans watched GNAC rival Central Washington lose its head coach in early January, only to name a replacement three weeks later.
But Collen and HSU's search committe maintained throughout the process that it was more important to get the right hire than a speedy one.
Smith beat out former Boise State and UC Davis assistant coach Steve Smyte, who was the only other candidate to come for the final stage in the selection process, the on-campus interview. And the selection didn't come without a bit of controversy.
Smith announced he would resign from WWU with a game still left in the Vikings' 2005 season, saying last week that the feeling was coming along "for a while" and that "there are certain frustrations that come with being at one position for 17 years."
Prompting further questions about his commitment to being a coach, he applied for a head coaching job at Colorado State-Pueblo in 2006, only to withdraw his name after interviewing for the position. Then, when he took the AD job at Grays Harbor, he said he felt himself moving away from coaching and toward administration.
"We have coaches all over the U.S. who say they are going to retire at the end of the season," Collen said. "That's old news to me. We've got a fired-up coach that wants to make a difference here at HSU."
Smith said his decision to step away from the CSP job, a position that excited him since he would have been head coach for the school's first-ever football program, was more personal than professional.
Now, however, personally and professionally, the HSU job is the perfect fit.
"There were some things I was told prior to the interview (at CSP) that were not what I thought they would be," Smith said. "The HSU situation is ideal. The timing is right to get the program turned around. Personally, it had to be right for myself and my kids. Pueblo wasn't right. HSU clearly is. We're all very excited to be a part of the school and community.
"My kids are excited their dad is going to be a football coach again."
