The name Giff Smith didn’t mean a lot to most Los Angeles Rams fans before the team hired him as their new defensive line coach this year. But now that Aaron Donald has retired, he is one of the most high-profile coaches on staff, simply because of the amount of work on his plate. Smith is tasked with rebuilding the interior of the offensive line around second-year Kobie Turner, rookie Braden Fiske, contract-year Bobby Brown, and a collection of other young or inexperienced linemen.
Rams head Sean McVay even joked about how difficult Smith’s role will be without Donald;
“Yeah, I didn’t tell him that Aaron was retiring until he accepted the job. He was like, ‘What the hell is this?'”
Giff Smith Recommended His Predecessor To Sean McVay
So far McVay has been impressed with what he has done so far;
“He has such a great feel for being ableto empower guys like and I can’t say enough good things about what I’ve witnessed and how grateful I am that he’s here.”
But this direct influence on the Rams hasn’t been limited to his official tenure which started just a few months ago.
Giff Smith was an early influence on McVay. They first met when Smith was recruiting McVay out of high school. At the time, he was a coach for the Tulane Green Wave. McVay opted for the Miami Red Hawks, but the relationship continued well into McVay’s head coaching tenure.
Smith remained a sounding board for McVay as he made his way up the ranks. In 2019, when McVay and the Rams looked to replace DL coach Bill Johnson, it was Smith who recommended Eric Henderson. Henderson became a close friend of Aaron Donald, who perfectly personified Henderson’s ethos, DAWGWORK. Henderson helped build and develop the Rams Super Bowl-winning defensive line. Henderson worked for Smith with the Chargers before being hired by the Rams.
Smith has the reputation of being a tough coach, but McVay thinks of him as a players coach, a point he and former Giff Smith pupil Joey Bosa were musing upon ahead of the Rams game against Smith’s former team, the Los Angeles Chargers.
“You hear the word ‘players coach’ and it can mean they’re not hard on guys. That’s the exact opposite [of Giff]. He loves these guys. He’s really the best in the relationships. And that enables them to know that when he’s going to be challenging and demanding of them they are still receptive to it.”
