The Los Angeles Chargers‘ season in 2023 has been one to forget. Former head coach Brandon Staley was fired after a blowout loss in Week 15.
In his place, Giff Smith was promoted to interim head coach. Who is Smith?
Who Is Giff Smith?
Smith was born Oct. 12, 1968, in Mableton, Georgia. He played college football at Georgia Southern University, where he was a three-time All-American defensive end.
In 2023, Smith was the Chargers’ outside linebackers coach before being promoted to interim head coach. He had been with the Chargers since 2016 and was chosen for the promotion over offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who had received head coaching bids in recent years. Smith’s lengthy Chargers tenure was likely what gave him the edge.
Smith began his coaching career back in 1991 as a graduate assistant at the University of Arkansas. He wouldn’t receive his first proper coaching job until 1996, when he was hired as the wide receivers coach at his alma mater, Georgia Southern, where he was from 1996 to 1998.
He spent the next 11 years at Tulane and Georgia Tech as a defensive line coach. He began his NFL coaching in 2010 when the Buffalo Bills hired him as their defensive line coach. He spent three seasons with the Bills.
Smith’s final stop before joining the Chargers was the Tennessee Titans. He spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons with Tennessee under the same defensive line coach role. The then-San Diego Chargers hired him as a defensive line coach, which was his role until 2022, when he became their outside linebackers coach.
The Chargers’ matchup with the Bills in Week 16 will be the first-ever game Smith has been the head coach of. He will get three total games to make his case to be the Chargers’ coach of the future.
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The Chargers’ next three games are against the Bills, Denver Broncos, and Kansas City Chiefs.
Staley, Smith’s predecessor, was the Chargers’ head coach since 2021. He finished his tenure with a 24-24 regular-season record and 0-1 postseason record.
His most infamous moment was when the Chargers blew a 27-0 lead in the 2022 Wild Card round of the playoffs, losing 31-30 to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
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