Darrin Smith
Miami, Florida, U.S. | |||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High school: | Miami Norland (Miami Gardens, Florida) | ||||||||
| College: | Miami (FL) | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1993 / Round: 2 / Pick: 54 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||||
Darrin Andrew Smith (born April 15, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks and New Orleans Saints. He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes.
Early years
Smith attended
.As a senior, he led his team in tackles, receiving All-state honors. He was also a member of the track team, where he competed in the 100 metres with a personal best time of 10.7 seconds.
College career
Smith was a member of the
As a
As a junior, he led the team with 126 tackles and was named Big East Conference co-defensive player of the year, along with Syracuse University defensive tackle George Rooks. He also had 10 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 5 quarterback pressures, 4 passes defensed and one forced fumble.
As a senior, he registered 106 tackles (second on the team), helping the team achieve a top eight ranking in total defense, while allowing 11.5 points per game. He made 2 sacks, 8 quarterback pressures, 4 tackles for loss, 9 passes defensed, one interception and 2 forced fumbles.
He finished his college career with 401 tackles (fourth in school history). He was a two-time second-team All-American and a Butkus Award semi-finalist. Smith stayed five years at the University of Miami, the first as a red-shirted freshman under Jimmy Johnson, so he could get a complete education. He earned his master's degree in marketing after getting his undergraduate degree in business management. He was the school's first National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Scholar-Athlete recipient.
In 2006, he was inducted into the
Professional career
Dallas Cowboys
Smith was selected by the
The next year, he recorded 103 tackles (fourth on the team), 4 sacks (fifth on the team), 10 passes defensed (fifth on the team) and 2 interceptions. He had 15 tackles against the Cleveland Browns.
In
In the 1990s, the Cowboys organization felt they could find linebackers through the draft, without the need of paying a premium and adversely impacting the salary cap,[5] so they allowed talented and productive players like Ken Norton Jr., Dixon Edwards, Robert Jones and Randall Godfrey, to leave via free agency, instead of signing them into long-term contracts.[6] In 1997, after he became a free agent the Cowboys replaced him by drafting Dexter Coakley.
Philadelphia Eagles
Although he was looking for a multiyear deal, because that season many teams had salary cap problems, he was forced to sign a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles on April 19, 1997.[7] His time with the team was disappointing after suffering a sprained left ankle in training camp which forced him to miss 3 of the first 5 games. He then had torn ligaments in his right ankle and missed the last 6 contests, which limited him to only 7 games. He was placed on the injured reserve list on November 19.[8] He registered 13 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He wasn't re-signed after the season.
Seattle Seahawks
On February 19,
In 1999, he started 15 games, recording 90 tackles (third on the team), 65 solo tackles, one sack, one interception and 3 passes defensed. On February 10, 2000, he was released because of salary cap reasons.[10]
New Orleans Saints
On July 16,
On March 29,
In 2002, he started 15 games at right outside linebacker and was one of the leaders of the defense. He registered 10 or more tackles in 5 contests, while establishing career-highs with 123 tackles (83 solo), 2 interceptions, 3.5 sacks, 11 passes defensed and one fumble recovery. He had 14 tackles, 3 sacks and one pass defensed against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He had 14 sacks and a half-sack against the Minnesota Vikings.
In
He was released on September 5, 2004.[13] He was signed back to provide depth on December 2.[14] He was limited to only 3 games because of injuries and he didn't register any stat. He wasn't re-signed after the season.
Smith played in the
NFL statistics
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Fumbles | Interceptions | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Comb | Solo | Ast | Sacks | FF | FR | Yds | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TDs | PDs | ||
| 1993 | DAL | 16 | 13 | 57 | 48 | 9 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 1994 | DAL | 16 | 16 | 68 | 46 | 22 | 4.0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 13 | 7.5 | 13 | 1 | 7 |
| 1995 | DAL | 9 | 9 | 46 | 40 | 6 | 3.0 | 0 | 1 | 63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1996 | DAL | 16 | 16 | 81 | 54 | 27 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | PHI | 7 | 7 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 1998 | SEA | 13 | 12 | 80 | 59 | 21 | 5.0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 56 | 18.6 | 26 | 2 | 6 |
| 1999 | SEA | 15 | 15 | 90 | 65 | 25 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2000 | NO | 16 | 16 | 91 | 61 | 30 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 56 | 28.0 | 41 | 1 | 9 |
| 2001 | NO | 16 | 16 | 67 | 50 | 17 | 1.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 2002 | NO | 15 | 15 | 96 | 63 | 33 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 10.5 | 17 | 0 | 8 |
| 2003 | NO | 14 | 10 | 60 | 44 | 16 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 9 | 0 | 3 |
| 2004 | NO | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 156 | 145 | 749 | 539 | 210 | 24.0 | 3 | 7 | 74 | 11 | 155 | 14.1 | 41 | 4 | 57 | |
Personal life
Smith now owns and operates a real estate investment/development company, As well as being a Youth & High School Football Coach at Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, FL). He is a member of The Fountain of Pembroke Pines (Pastor Wayne Lomax) where he heads the Athletes for Christ Bible Study Ministry. He is married to Kimberly Smith and the father of twins, a girl and a boy, Daryn and Darius Smith.
References
- ^ "1993 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
- ^ "Dallas Signs Darrin Smith". The Oklahoman. October 15, 1995. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ "Cowboys Play It Safe, Tap Into Miami Connection". The Oklahoman. April 26, 1993. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ "Backup Myles Ready To Replace Smith". Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ "Free agency could hurt Dallas". The Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ "The value of linebackers isn't what it used to be in the NFL, and a look at the surging 2018 Cowboys shows why". 30 November 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ "Eagles Get Ex-Cowboy Darrin Smith". 20 April 1997. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ "Transactions". The New York Times. 21 November 1997. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ "Transactions". The New York Times. 20 February 1998. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ "Transactions". 11 February 2000. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ "Saints sign LB Darrin Smith". Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ "Saints keep Darrin Smith". Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ "Saints release 16, including Fontenot and Darrin Smith". Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ "Transactions". 3 December 2004. Retrieved February 19, 2020.