John L. Smith in running for Montana State job

Posted on May 31, 2007 by Colin O'Keefe
When all these shenanigans started, I predicted the Bobcat coaching would be filled by Mike Van Diest if he chose to take it. Well, turns out the job is not his for the taking as former Michigan State, Louisville and Idaho head coach John L. Smith is a fellow front-runner for the position.

From the Cat-Griz Insider:
Montana State’s search for a new football coach has been narrowed down to 11 candidates.

Whle no names have officially surfaced, a couple of the front-runners appear to be Carroll coach Mike Van Diest and former Louisville and Michigan State coach John L. Smith.
John L. Smith has proven he can coach in the Big Sky. He went 53-21 in his six seasons at Idaho in the early '90s. His 53 wins are the most by a coach at that school -- that's kind of like having the home run record for a minor league baseball team -- where he led the Vandals to the FBS playoffs in five of his six seasons.

After Idaho, he coached at Utah State and Louisville, where he took the Cardinals to five straight bowl appearances and back-to-back Conference USA titles in 2000 and 2001.

I'm not going to go out on a limb and say the job is his for the taking because I've made statements like that twice before, and been wrong both times but Smith is definitely an extremely qualified candidate. Yes, his tenure at Michigan State was rough but he's shown he can be a great coach in a non-major conference.

On a side not, Smith's interest makes me wonder if Jerry Glanville has brought some sense of legitimacy to the Big Sky Conference. You'd figure that with his track record he'd have a better job, assistant or head coach, available elsewhere.
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WA Griz - May 31, 2007 5:47 PM

This is the same John L. who was sniffing around Idaho six months ago. The fact that the Vandals passed him up for a coordinator with no HC experience makes me think there's more to John L. than meets the eye.

Colin - May 31, 2007 6:03 PM

Possibly. I can't find much press on his interest in the Idaho job but maybe it was similar to Steve Spurrier and Florida agreeing that a return just wasn't the best for both parties.

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