In a surprise victory, former Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips led his San Antonio Brahmas to a 27-12 win over the XFL runner-up D.C. Defenders. One of the reasons Phillips was able to achieve the victory was due to his offense, which scored three touchdowns.
Phillips’ offensive coordinator is A.J. Smith. This is the second year Smith has worked as an OC under Phillips. Both of them lit up XFL scoreboards last year with the Houston Roughnecks.
Smith, with a roster constructed on the fly, averaged 23.1 points per game last season. Before star wide receiver Jontre Kirklin went out injured, the Roughnecks put up 30.5 points per game.
Well, Smith and Kirklin are back on target. As a member of the Brahmas, Kirklin put up eight receptions for 61 yards and one touchdown in the season opener. Smith guided ex-NFL quarterback Chase Garbers to a successful UFL debut.
Garbers went 19-for-25 for 158 yards and two touchdowns. Garbers also had three rushes for 6 yards and a touchdown. He had no interceptions.
A.J. Smith started his coaching career at 19 years old. A former graduate assistant at SMU, Smith grew up as a disciple of the Run N Shoot, a pass-happy, post-snap read offense that was popularized in the 80s and early 90s. The head coach at SMU at the time was June Jones.
June Jones was another longtime coach who got started at an early age. He served the Oilers and the Falcons as offensive coordinator before he took the Falcons head coaching job. He also was the head coach of the Chargers and of the Hawaii Warriors where his offense helped Colt Brennan become a Heisman finalist and record-setter for touchdowns thrown in a season.
At SMU, Jones buried the curse of the “death penalty” by winning three bowl games. Smith worked with Jones in the XFL, as well as a position coach for the Houston Roughnecks in 2020. They helped P.J. Walker light up the league before Walker returned to the NFL. Walker has played for four seasons since.
Smith is a young, talented coach who has a proven track record of success and the blueprint for the modern passing offense. The Run N Shoot is like Latin and the modern passing offense is like European languages. Smith is a reverse engineer who would be able to dissect every offensive concept with ease.
Smith will be in the NFL sooner rather than later and perhaps a call to their old friend Wade Phillips is the perfect way to preemptively hire a future star.
