Smeland headed for Army

Bill Miller wasn’t the only defensive coordinator to leave town yesterday.

Chris Smeland, the University of Louisville defensive coordinator during the John L. Smith years — who had returned to town with Smith when they left Michigan State — has been named the co-defensive coordinator at Army, according to reports.

The job Smeland did at U of L may never have been fully appreciated. U of L had some very good defenses under his watch, particularly with guys like Dewayne White and Donovan Arp up front, and Curry Burns and Anthony Floyd at safety. What Smeland did a great job of was hiding defensive weaknesses when he had them. Floyd led the nation in interceptions one year, and U of L began its run as one of the nation’s top sack outfits during his time.

Best of luck to him in West Point, which is clearly one of the great college football venues in the nation.