Dean Smith (Football Coach)

Who is Dean Smith?

Dean Smith is a professional football manager and ex-player from England. Dean Smith is also the head coach of Norwich City, who compete in the EFL Championship.

Dean Smith: Bio, Age, Parents, Siblings, Ethnicity, Education

Dean Smith was born on March 19, 1971, in West Bromwich, England. Furthermore, he was born under the sign of Pisces and follows Christianity as his religion.

In addition, he is the son of Alfred Smith and Vesta Smith. His father worked as a Steward at Villa Park for 25 years and was a passionate Aston Villa fan.

Sadly, his father died on May 27, 2020, from COVID-19. He grew up alongside his elder brother, Dave Smith.

Education

Speaking of his academic background, he graduated from the University of Kansas.

Dean Smith: Professional life, Career

Dean Smith began his playing career at Walsall, when the club was relegated from the Third Division in 1989-90 under John Barnwell’s management. Under new manager Kenny Hibbitt, the club struggled to adjust to life in the Fourth Division, placing 16th in 1990-91 and 15th in 1991-92.

Dean joined Hereford United for £80,000 in the summer of 1994, setting a club record for the “Bulls.” Under John Layton, they finished 16th in the Third Division in 1994-95.

When Edgar Street reached the Third Division play-offs in 1995-96, he captained Graham Turner. Despite Smith scoring only two minutes into the first leg, Darlington overcame Edgar Street 4-2 in the playoffs.

In August 1997, he signed a contract with Tommy Taylor’s Leyton Orient, with a tribunal ruling the value at £42,500. In 1997-98, he had ten goals in 51 games. If Orient had not been penalized three points, they would have ended one point short of the Third Division play-offs.

He led Orient to the play-offs in 1998-1999, scoring a penalty in a shootout victory over Rotherham United in the quarterfinals. However, in the Wembley Championship encounter, Scunthorpe United defeated his team 1-0.

He appeared in 49 games this season and scored ten goals. In July 2004, he joined Port Vale, which is managed by Martin Foyle. During the 2004-05 season, he appeared in 13 League One games and two cup games for the “Valiants”.

Coaching Career

His playing career ended in January 2005, when he departed Vale Park to work as a junior team coach at his former club Leyton Orient. He joined Leyton Orient as a youth coach in January 2005 and was promoted to assistant manager before the end of the 2004-05 season.

He obtained his UEFA Pro Licence in 2008, alongside his classmates Roy Keane, Brendan Rodgers, and Ian McParland. He and longstanding manager Martin Ling left Orient in January 2009 after a bad run of results. Brentford of the Championship was placed under Dean’s control on November 30, 2015.

Brentford finished ninth in the 2015-16 season, and the transfer of James Tarkowski and Toumani Diagouraga netted him £3.6 million in revenue. He bought 18 players in preparation for the 2016-17 season, including Romaine Sawyers and Rico Henry (worth £1.5 million) from his previous club Walsall.

Recent Career

In the summer of 2020, he bolstered the club by signing Matty Cash ($14 million from Nottingham Forest), Ollie Watkins ($28 million from Brentford), Lamare Bogard ($undisclosed cost from Feyenoord), Emiliano Martínez ($17 million from Arsenal), and Bertrand Traoré ($17 million from Lyon).

The only time a team has scored seven goals past the Premier League winners in 67 years was on October 4, when he led Aston Villa to a 7-2 home win over Premier League champions Liverpool in the third game of the 2020-21 season.

He recruited Emiliano Buendia, Leon Bailey, and Danny Ings for a total of £83 million in preparation for Jack Grealish’s £100 million sale to Manchester City, which set an English record. The squad also signed free agent defender Axel Tuanzebe from Manchester United and former Inter Milan star Ashley Young.

He and Aston Villa parted ways on November 7, 2021, after five straight Premier League defeats. According to Chief Executive Christian Purslow, the decision was made due to Aston Villa’s failure to maintain its upward trajectory in 2021-22.

On November 15, 2021, he signed a two-and-a-half-year contract to replace Daniel Farke as Norwich City’s head coach. Furthermore, he defeated Southampton 2-1 in his first game in command.

Achievements

As a former player and manager, he has received numerous awards and recognitions. He was named Football League One Manager of the Month twice, in January 2013 and August 2015. As Walsall manager, he led the club to the Football League Trophy runner-up position in 2015.

What is Dean Smith’s relationship status?

Dean Smith is married to his wife, Nicola. Through their marriage, the couple has two children: a son, Jamie, and a daughter. Aside from being a former footballer and manager, he is an avid chess player who won the West Midlands school chess championship as a child.

 Dean Smith: Net worth, Salary

He has made a lot of money in his career as a player and manager. Furthermore, his net worth is reported to be approximately $5 million, and he has not disclosed his income or compensation publicly.

Dean Smith: Body features, Height, Weight

This manager stands six feet tall and weighs approximately 84 kilograms. Furthermore, this dude has brown hair, brown eyes, and a waist size of 31 inches.

Social media

He currently has 810 Instagram followers. Aside from that, he is not active on Facebook or Twitter.