The Packers have made their latest addition to Matt LaFleur’s staff, hiring Mike Smith to coach their outside linebackers, the team announced in a tweet. No, it’s not former Falcons head coach and Buccaneers defensive coordinator, but a different Mike Smith. Smith was drafted by the Ravens back in 2005, and spent three-plus seasons in the league with Baltimore. He started as a coaching intern with the Jets in 2010, and has steadily moved his way up the ranks.
He was on Andy Reid’s staff in Kansas City for the past three seasons, where he served as assistant defensive line coach and then outside linebackers coach. When the Chiefs fired longtime defensive coordinator Bob Sutton earlier this week and hired Steve Spagnuolo, it meant Smith was unlikely to be retained. Smith coached under current Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine in New York, so the reunion makes sense.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Sebastian Janikowski‘s season ended on a low note, as he was injured and unable to kick in the second half of the Seahawks’ Wild Card round playoff loss. That might’ve been his last game as a Seahawk, as Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times expects Seattle to move on from the impending free agent this offseason. Janikowski is soon to be 41, and his play has clearly declined from his peak, but teams could be interested assuming the Seahawks let him walk. As Condotta notes, the team recently signed former Rams kicker Sam Ficken to a reserve/futures contract, and they could add more competition through the draft or free agency.
- Eagles defensive end Chris Long has flirted with retirement in the past, but he wants to keep playing, according to Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia. “I’d like to play football in 2019. I thought I had a strong year and felt good physically. Listen, I know I’m an older guy. But, you know, I don’t think I’ve missed a practice over the last two years. I feel like I’ve been durable and ready when called upon”, Long told a Philly radio station. He did leave the door open for a possible retirement still, saying he still “could go either way”, depending on “what the Eagles do and who they bring in or don’t bring in and how deep that room gets.” Long had 6.5 sacks this season, his highest total since 2013.
- In case you missed it, things are progressing toward an extension for Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh.
The Packers better hope they got the right Mike Smith. It could be embarrassing if some guy reports to the team asking where he can find Zenyatta.