JUST IN:The man behind the mask, Ryan Smith Cardinals comebacks coach.
Like many coaches who were brought on the Arizona Cardinals’ staff in 2023, it was the first year in the NFL for cornerbacks coach Ryan Smith.
He started 22 games at cornerback while at William & Mary from 2010-2013 and then started his coaching journey, first as a defensive graduate assistant at Texas-San Antonio in 2014 and then Penn State for two years through 2016 where also earned his Master’s degree in Educational Leadership.
That was followed by two years at Elon as secondary coach, one year coaching safeties at James Madison, two years at Virginia Tech as cornerbacks coach including the second season also as defensive pass game specialist and then cornerbacks coach at Northwestern.T
he 34-year-old Smith meshes well with a young team of players and coaches. He talked to the local media Friday after practice.
