More than X’s and O’s

FAYETTEVILLE — John L. Smith can’t match Bobby Petrino’s winning percentage when you compare their records as college head football coaches.

Smith has a 132-86 record (.606) in 18 seasons at Idaho, Utah State, Louisville and Michigan State. Petrino has a 75-26 record (.743) in eight seasons at Louisville and Arkansas.

But a personality contest between Smith and Petrino?

Smith would win that by a wide margin.

“In terms of personality, John L’s a 10 and Bobby Petrino’s like negative-2,” said Rick Bozich, a columnist for the Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal who covered Smith and Petrino when they coached the Cardinals. “John L. just projects an image of a guy who works hard but knows the importance of having fun, that football is just a game at times.

“That doesn’t mean John L. doesn’t take it seriously. He does. But he likes to make it fun, whereas Petrino always looks like he’s going to the dentist to get a root canal.” Smith was Louisville’s head coach when he hired Petrino as offensive coordinator in 1998. Petrino later replaced Smith as the Cardinals’ coach in 2003, when Smith left for Michigan State.

Now Smith is replacing Petrino as Arkansas’ coach, for the next several months at least. Arkansas announced Monday that Smith, a Razorbacks assistant the previous three seasons who left to become Weber State’s coach in December, is returning to the UA with a 10-month contract to lead the program after Petrino’s firing April 10.

A news conference announcing Smith’s hiring will be held at 2 p.m. today, and it figures to be far more interesting than Petrino’s media sessions.

“John L. will say things,” Bozich said. “He’s not just going to give you coach speak. He’s pretty candid.”

While Petrino was known for his play-calling skills on offense, Smith has the reputation as a thrill-seeker off the field.

Smith, 63, was among a group of 11 climbers who in July of 2004 - after his first season at Michigan State - scaled Mount Kilimanjaro, elevation 19,341, during a six day trip.

“The sunrise was so special because you dream and talk about sitting on top of that mountain and watching the sun come up, and when it happened, what a moment,” Smith told the Detroit Free Press. “I couldn’t stop crying. It was that unbelievable.”

Smith also has gone running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, sky-dived and flown a fighter jet.

“It’s about enjoying life,” Smith told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in 2009, after being hired as Arkansas’ special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach. “I mean life’s an adventure. So I’ve tried to take that and instill that into my kids growing up as well as those players I’ve coached.

“Life’s an adventure and get out and enjoy it. Make sure you make the most of it.”

Smith ran with the bulls in the summer of 2001.

“The trip to Spain was an adventure. Seeing castles, things like that, was exciting,” Smith told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “Running with the bulls was exciting. Sky-diving was the biggest rush I’ve had in my life. It’s the ultimate high, but I’m not sure I want to do it again.”

Smith jumped out of a plane at 11,500 feet and was free-falling for about a minute before he opened his parachute.

“Once the chute opened, I relaxed a little,” he told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “Stepping out on that little foot pad, holding on to the wing strut, looking down ... you think, ‘This is not natural.Man is not meant to fly.’ ”

Jake Bequette, a two-time All-SEC defensive end for the Razorbacks who is preparing for this week’s NFL Draft, said “very successful coaches have all kinds of personalities” when asked to compare Petrino and Smith.

“Coach Petrino is all business,” Bequette said. “There’s not much extra that goes into his delivery with the team. He’s very detail-oriented, and it’s strictly football.

“With Coach Smith, he’s very goal-oriented as well, but he’s a lot more fiery. He’s very passionate about what he does. That’s just kind of how he lives his life. He’s a great story teller, and he’s got a ton of stories.”

Bequette was working out in Arkansas’ weight room Monday and said “a surge of excitement” went through the building when news began spreading about Smith’s return.

“He was beloved by all the players when he was here,” Bequette said. “We were sad to see him go, but we understood why he went back to Weber, his alma mater.

“I’m sure he would have loved to stay there, but this was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. He always said he wants to be a head coach at the top again, and here he is.”

Smith said he began using his middle initial when he was an Idaho assistant in the 1980s and there were three “John Smiths” on the coaching staff.

“We had to distinguish ourselves from one another by using our middle initials,” Smith told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in 2009. “That’s when I became John L. Smith.”

Smith smiled when asked what the “L” stands for in his name.

“It stands for ‘Lucky,’ as in ‘Lucky to be here,’ ” he said, slapping a reporter on the back.

Smith went 41-21 in five seasons at Louisville, taking over a program that went 1-10 in 1997 before his arrival from Utah State.

“John L. was tremendous,” Bozich said. “He came to Louisville after the program had declined ... and had a pretty dramatic turnaround.”

In Smith’s first two games at Louisville, the Cardinals lost to Kentucky 68-34 and Utah 45-22.

“Everybody thought they were going to stink and lose 10 games again,” Bozich said. “Then John L. had a famous team meeting and said you’re either in the boat or out of the boat. He got the players’ attention that he wasn’t going to put up with a bunch of crap, and they went to Illinois the next week and won 35-9.”

Louisville finished 7-5, and in the Cardinals’ fourth season of Smith’s tenure they went 11-2.

In Smith’s first season at Michigan State in 2003, he led the Spartans to an 8-5 record and was Big Ten Coach of the Year. The Spartans were 5-7, 5-6 and 4-8 the next three years, resulting in Smith’s firing after the 2006 season.

Smith’s fiery personality was on display during a halftime interview with ABC reporter Jack Arute in 2005 when Michigan State played at Ohio State. The Spartans led 17-7 in the closing seconds at halftime, but had a rushed 35-yard field-goal attempt - with just 10 men on the field - that the Buckeyes blocked and returned 72 yards for a touchdown.

Ohio State went on to win 38-24.

“The kids are playing their tails off, and the coaches are screwing it up!” Smith yelled into Arute’s microphone.

During the 2006 season, Smith jokingly slapped himself during a news conference in reference to a claim by Notre Dame Coach Charlie Weis that he had been slapped in the face on the sideline during an altercation at Michigan State earlier in the season.

Smith’s Spartans also enjoyed the greatest comeback in Football Bowl Subdivision history in 2006, when they beat Northwestern 41-38 after trailing 38-3 midway through the third quarter.

Smith spent two years hosting a radio call-in show in Louisville before getting back into coaching at Arkansas.

“Everybody that calls in, it’s amazing how smart you are now,” Smith told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in 2009. “Everything you say is gospel once you go on the radio. ... When I did get a chance to criticize, it was amazing how smart I was. I didn’t make one bad call last year.”

At a glance

BORN Nov. 15, 1948

AGE 63

HOMETOWN Idaho Falls, Idaho

EDUCATION Bonneville High School (1967); bachelor’s degree, Weber State (1971); master’s degree, Montana (1974) FAMILY Diana, wife; sons, Nicholas, Kayse and Sam

RECORD 132-86 in 18 seasons as a head coach

BOWL RECORD 1-6

CHAMPIONSHIPS Big Sky (1989, 1992), Big West (1996, 1997) Conference USA (2000, 2001)

ARKANSAS TENURE 2009-2011 (special teams coordinator) Smith

by the numbers

1 Times Smith’s teams have finished the season ranked in the top 25

5 Times Smith’s Idaho teams reached the NCAA Division I-AA football playoffs

0-8 Combined record against Big Ten rivals Ohio State and Michigan while at Michigan State

1-6 Bowl record while at Utah State, Louisiville and Michigan State

25-9 Record at Louisville in Conference USA games from 1998-2002

132-86 Career record in 18 seasons as a head coach at Idaho, Utah State, Louisville and Michigan State