Coach Mike Smith comes from a long line of teachers and from an early age developed a passion for coaching, teaching and leading. After a distinguished collegiate football career at East Tennessee State University, Smith moved through the coaching ranks from college to the NFL being named Head Coach of the Atlanta Falcons in 2008. In his 7 years with the Falcons he was named the NFL coach of the Year three times and left as the winningest coach in the Falcons history.
Having tutored and mentored such greats as Ray Lewis, Matt Ryan and Tony Gonzales, Smith has always been recognized as one of the best at building culture and developing effective communication throughout an entire organization. Working with some of the best coaches in the NFL, Brian Billick, Marvin Lewis, Jack Del Rio, Rex Ryan; Smith has gathered knowledge while maintaining his own very successful coaching and leadership style.
Coach Smith has received national recognition from the book he co-authored with Jon Gordon, “You Win in the Locker Room First” The best seller has been critically acclaimed as a “must read for anyone who wants to build a great culture and winning team.” Coach Smith is totally committed to helping coaches, administrators and executives develop their leadership skills by sharing his experiences of went right with the Atlanta Falcons and very transparently sharing what went wrong the last two years on From the Locker Room.