Tag: Kolby Smith

Report: Arkansas to hire Petrino disciple Kolby Smith as new RB coach

Arkansas’ coaching staff appears to be shaping up very Petrino-like.

According to a report from 247Sports’ Brandon Marcello, Arkansas has already found its new running backs coach.

Kolby Smith, 39, who has spent the last four years with the Miami Dolphins and who played for Petrino at running back at Louisville, is reportedly set to take over for Jimmy Smith. Jimmy Smith resigned earlier in the week, reportedly to take the same job at Texas Christian where former Arkansas offensive coordinator Kendal Briles runs the Horned Frogs offense.

Kolby Smith isn’t unfamiliar with Fayetteville. He worked as a grauate assistant at Arkansas in 2012 before leaving to work with Petrino at Western Kentucky until 2018. From there, he spent one season as the running backs coach at Rutgers before making his way to the NFL.

Arkansas’ running back room has a lot of bodies, but not a lot of recent production. Rashod Dubinion and Dominique Johnson both return from last year’s roster, but they combined to rush for just 427 yards. The Hogs brought in Utah transfer Ja’Quinden Jackson from Utah and he is expected to be the primary back.

Kolby Smith played three seasons in the NFL, mostly on practice squads, after being taken in the fifth round of the 2007 draft.

Report: Dolphins move on from coaches Ricardo Allen, Mike Judge and Brendan Farrell

A trio of assistants leaving Miami.

After news of Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and offensive assistant Kolby Smith parting ways with the team, there have been more coaching moves.

According to NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe, the Dolphins have also moved on from offensive assistants Ricardo Allen and Mike Judge as well as assistant special teams coach Brendan Farrell.

Allen, 32, joined the Dolphins as a special teams assistant in 2022 and moved to offensive assistant this past year following an eight-year career as a safety with the Atlanta Falcons and Cincinnati Bengals.

Judge joined Miami’s staff in 2019 under Brian Flores working as a quality control coach (2019-20) before moving to assistant tight ends coach in 2021 and offensive assistant in 2023. Prior to his time with the Dolphins he worked with the New England Patriots, Harvard and Navy.

Farrell joined the Dolphins in his current position in 2019 after spending six years as a special teams analyst for Alabam and four years as assistant head coach at Northwestern State.

Dolphins part with offensive assistant Kolby Smith

Miami moved on from another coach earlier this week.

While the headlines have been on the Miami Dolphins parting ways with defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, he’s not the only member of the coaching staff to move on recently.

According to NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe, the Dolphins also parted with offensive assistant Kolby Smith, who served in that role since 2022 when Mike McDaniel joined the staff. However, he originally joined Miami’s coaching staff back in 2020 as an offensive quality control coach.

Like Fangio, who’s reportedly set to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles, Smith is also working fast to find a new job. According to Wolfe, he’s already interviewed to be the running backs coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Get to know Dolphins new assistant coach Kolby Smith

Get to know Dolphins new assistant coach Kolby Smith

The Miami Dolphins have conducted some last minute additions to their coaching staff. With the start of training camp looking to be approximately one month away, Miami’s new additions aren’t necessarily heavy hitters, but they figure to help allow the Dolphins staff to properly allocate their time and energy into directing the team to a successful season. One of the team’s two hires is Kolby Smith — he will serve as an offensive quality control coach for the Dolphins in 2020.

Who is coach Kolby Smith, and how did he get here?

Smith is a former collegiate and pro running back whose journey to the NFL started at the University of Louisville. He played there from 2003 to 2006, logging over 1,800 rushing yards and 20 career touchdowns in his time with the Cardinals. Smith was then drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 5th-round of the 2007 NFL Draft; although pro success on the field was much harder to come by.

Smith played his first three NFL seasons in Kansas City before being cut three times in a single summer by the Chiefs, Broncos and Jaguars — he never saw the field as a player again.

Smith did, however, latch on as an assistant coach at the college level in the aftermath of his playing career. His coaching career to date includes stops at Arkansas (2012, assistant strength and conditioning), Western Kentucky (2013, tailbacks coach), Louisville (2014-2018, tailbacks coach) and Rutgers (2019, tailbacks coach).

Coach Smith won’t directly be molding running backs by himself in Miami, as the presence of coach Eric Studesville will provide Miami’s backs with direction. But the experience Smith has in coaching running backs probably had great appeal to Miami — as the team is desperate to find new life for their ground game in 2020.

Report: Former Chiefs RB Kolby Smith joins Dolphins coaching staff

A former Kansas City Chiefs draft pick is back in the league as an offensive quality control coach.

A former Kansas City Chiefs draft pick is taking up a coaching job in the league. According to a new report from ESPN’s Field Yates, former Chiefs RB Kolby Smith will be the new offensive quality control coach for the Miami Dolphins in 2020.

Smith played college football at Louisville, backing up former Oakland Raiders RB Michael Bush. He was drafted by Kansas City in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL Draft.

Smith only played with the Chiefs for three seasons, appearing in 27 games and starting nine games. He backed up the likes of Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson in Kansas City. Injuries derailed Smith’s career as he suffered knee and ankle injuries which knocked him out for a portion of the 2008 and 2009 seasons. He received other opportunities with the Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars but never played a game for either team.

Coaching came in 2012 for Smith, joining the University of Arkansas as a strength and conditioning coach. From there, Smith became a running back coach with Western Kentucky. He’d fill the same role with his alma mater and most recently was the running back coach at Rutgers. His job as an offensive quality control coach with Miami will mark the first time he’s filled that specific role. It also marks his first job as a coach in the NFL.

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