Two Weeks After Taking WVU Job, Mike Smith Returns To Jets
NEW YORK (WFAN/AP) — Mike Smith is leaving West Virginia to return to the Jets, just two weeks after he was named an assistant coach on defense for the Mountaineers.
The school announced Thursday that he is returning to the Jets to coach the outside linebackers. It's the same position he held before leaving the Jets. West Virginia didn't give a reason for Smith's departure.
"West Virginia University is one of the elite college football programs with a lot of history and tradition, and I am excited to join the staff," Smith said in a statement on Jan. 20. "The atmosphere and people at West Virginia were the biggest sell for me personally. It was like being at home."
Former Buffalo Bills first-round draft bust Aaron Maybin credited Smith for his remarkable turnaround with the Jets in 2011.
The move means West Virginia still has two openings on the defensive staff.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel, defensive line coach Bill Kirelawich and defensive backs coach David Lockwood joined Rich Rodriguez's staff at Arizona last month.
West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen hired Oklahoma State's assistant Joe DeForest last month. Both were on the Cowboys' coaching staff in 2010.
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