Mike Smith joined the PLU football coaching staff as a defensive line coach prior to the 2023 season and was promoted to defensive coordinator in the spring of 2026.
As defensive line coach, Smith produced six All-Conference selections and three D3football.com All-Region honors. He helped the team rank sixth nationally in rushing defense in 2024, yielding just 57.6 rushing yards per game while also sitting ninth nationally in sacks.
Smith comes to Luteville after serving as a defensive graduate assistant at Texas Christian University from 2019-2021. Prior to TCU, Smith was an assistant at Northwest Conference rival Pacific University. Smith was the defensive line coach from 2015-2019 as was a defensive assistant in 2014, helping the Boxers win a share of the conference title.
Smith graduated from Pacific with a degree in psychology and secured a master's degree in liberal arts from TCU.
