Arkansas Razorbacks: John L. Smith New Head Coach at Weber State

Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino lost offensive coordinator Garrick McGee to UAB last week. This week they will lose their special teams coach when 63-year-old John L. Smith is announced to be the new head football coach at Weber State, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.

Smith has been an assistant at University of Arkansas since the 2009 season. Before being the special teams coach for the Hogs, Smith was the head coach at the University of Idaho from 1989 to 1994, Utah State from 1995 to 1997, Louisville from 1998 to 2002 and Michigan State from 2003 to 2006.

Weber State is located in Ogden, Utah, a place Smith is familiar with from his time at Utah State.

The Wildcats are a championship subdivision team in the Big Sky conference. Weber State finished the 2011 season with a 5-6 record.

Smith will replace Ron McBride as the Wildcats head coach after seven seasons on campus. McBride resigned after posting a 38-32 overall record as the Wildcats head coach.

McBride’s best season for the Wildcats was in 2008 when he led the team to a 10-4 record and an appearance in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs.

Smith has an overall head coaching record of 132-86 with a 1-6 bowl record. Smith’s lone bowl win was a 28-10 2001 Liberty Bowl victory over BYU.