Long-time defensive line coach Giff Smith heads into his third season coaching the position for the Chargers. In season two with the Bolts, Smith’s instruction helped Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram move higher on the team’s all-time sacks list — Bosa finishing the season ranked 10th with 28.5 career sacks and Ingram finishing ranked No. 7 with 42 sacks. In the Week 5 victory against Oakland, Ingram became just the second player in NFL history to have a sack, and interception and a rushing attempt in a single game, joining Jets linebacker Mo Lewis, who did so in 2000. Smith coached a defensive line in 2018 that had eight players post a sack.
In 2017, the duo of Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram combined to be one of the fiercest tandems in the NFL, combing for 23 sacks and leading the league in pressures en route to their first Pro Bowl selections. Bosa set a career-high with 12.5 sacks to rank seventh in the league while Ingram equaled a career-best with 10.5 sacks. Bosa set an NFL record with 19 sacks in his first 20 career games. The defensive line recorded 36 of the 43 sacks on the season for the Chargers. The 43 sacks were tied for fifth in the NFL and were the most by the team since 2010. The line helped disrupt opposing quarterbacks to rank third in the league in fewest passing yards allowed and buckled down in the redzone to pace the NFL in redzone defense.
The Chargers’ defensive line performed beyond admirably in Smith’s first season in 2016. As a unit, the Bolts boasted the NFL’s 10th-ranked rush defense. The Chargers held nine of their 16 opponents to less than 100 yards on the ground and recorded the NFL’s second-highest percentage of tackles for loss. Bosa captured NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors after leading the Chargers and all NFL rookies with 10.5 sacks. Despite playing in just 12 games, Bosa also led the Chargers in tackles for loss and quarterback pressures. As a unit, the Chargers defensive line accounted for nearly half (16) of the team’s 35 sacks on the season.
A native of Mableton, Ga., Smith was a three-time All-America defensive end at Georgia Southern. He was a team captain as a senior and a part of three NCAA I-AA national title teams (1986, ’89-90) for the Eagles.
Smith launched his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Arkansas (1991-93) and Georgia (1994-95) before spending three seasons (1996-98) coaching wide receivers and the secondary at Georgia Southern. He went on to coach the defensive line for five seasons (1999-03) at Tulane before taking over as the defensive line coach at Georgia Tech in 2004. In 2007, the Yellow Jackets led the nation in sacks (47) and ranked second in tackles for loss. One of Smith’s top players was Joe Anoa’i, a first-team All-ACC pick in 2006, who is now known as Roman Reigns and won World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) heavyweight championship in April 2016. Three additional linemen who played for Smith at Georgia Tech went on to play in the NFL. They include Michael Johnson, Vance Walker and Derrick Morgan.
Smith moved to the NFL in 2010, taking over as the defensive line coach for the Buffalo Bills. He spent three seasons in Buffalo (2010-12), during which time defensive tackle Kyle Williams was selected to the first two Pro Bowls of his career and defensive end Mario Williams had a 10.5-sack season.
Prior to joining the Chargers, Smith spent two years (2014-15) coaching the defensive line in Tennessee. In 2014, Smith helped the Titans implement a 3-4 scheme, and defensive tackle Jurrell Casey posted a career-high 13 tackles for loss. In 2015, the Titans racked up 39 sacks, tied for 12th in the league. The defensive line accounted for 13.5 of those sacks, including a team-high-tying seven by Casey, who was selected to his first-career Pro Bowl following the season.
Smith and his wife, Jennifer, have two children, Ava and Sam. In 2000, Smith was inducted into the Georgia Southern Athletic Hall of Fame.
