We took a look at first year head coach John Harbaugh last week, so we though to be fair we’d tackle first year head coach Mike Smith this week. Mike Smith was named the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons following a turbulent year when the Falcons’ starting quarterback would be sentenced to jail and their new highly touted head coach would resign during the season to return to college football. Mike Smith grew up in Florida and ended up coaching one state away in Georgia, but in between there was quite an interesting road traveled. Let’s take a look at Mike Smith:

-He played briefly in the Canadian Football League for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (one season).

-He played college football for East Tennessee State University and was the defensive MVP of the team twice.

-Before coming to the NFL, he spent time as an assistant coach at San Diego State, Morehead State, and Tennessee Tech.

-He was on the staff of the Baltimore Ravens as an assistant coach when they won the 2000 Super Bowl.

-Jack Del Rio left the Ravens as their linebackers coach to become the defensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers following the 2001 season, he was replaced by Mike Smith. The next season when Del Rio became the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars he hired Smith to the team’s defensive coordinator.