‘Nobody else was in my corner:’ How Nolan Smith turned his career around

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‘Nobody else was in my corner:’ How Nolan Smith turned his career around originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

NEW ORLEANS – How did Nolan Smith turn his career around?

By listening to Brandon Graham.

Always a good strategy.

“When I had nobody else in my corner, man, B.G. was in my corner,” Smith said. “And I just feel like he told me to keep my head down and keep working. And just eventually, man, when the sacks come and all of them loving you, don’t worry about it, just keep working. So I just keep keep that in the back of my head.”

B.G., who had his own struggles early in his career, speaks from experience. And of course he was correct.

Smith had one sack in his first 21 career games and now has 10 ½ sacks in 15 games since the bye week. Sure looks like Smith became a pass-rush terror overnight during the break between the loss in Tampa that dropped the Eagles to 2-2 and the win in Cleveland two weeks later that sparked their 10-game winning streak and catapulted them to the Super Bowl.

Smith shakes his head.

There was no moment where it all clicked. There was no epiphany during the bye week.

He just kept working. Kept grinding. Kept getting better. And while it seemed from the outside that Smith had become a completely different player, in reality he was the exact same player. It was just a matter of persistence and determination paying off.

“I wouldn’t say anything changed,” he said. “Just kept at it, kept the same attitude, kept working and just eventually waited on my time and my opportunity.

“I don’t play for production, you know? I want to have good reps every rep, and we count the losses and yesses and nos. Certain times you can look at your get-off and be like, ‘Yes,’ certain times you look at it and be like, ‘No.’”

There have been a lot more yesses than nos lately for Smith. He’s got the most sacks in the NFL this postseason, more career postseason sacks than Reggie White had as an Eagle and at least one sack in seven of his last 10 games. With a sack in the Super Bowl, he’ll be the first player in NFL history with a sack in four straight games in the same postseason.

“It all starts with get-off and then hands,” Smith said. “And we focus on the small things, the details, the minute things that people usually don’t focus on. Do the same thing over and over, and you just gotta get great at the details.

Smith speaks very highly of Jeremiah Washburn, one of the few defensive coaches that Vic Fangio retained after replacing the Sean Desai / Matt Patricia tag-team after last season. Washburn coaches the edge rushers, and he’s played a huge role in Smith’s development.

Washburn has an interesting background, coming from the offensive side of the ball – “the enemy,” Smith calls it. Wash was an offensive line coach for years with the Bears and Dolphins and that gives him a unique perspective on rushing the quarterback.

“I learned how to study the game from him,” Smith said. “Like how to study the game and what you’re looking at and what you’re looking for and what (the tackle is going to) do on this play and what is this and certain formations and different things.

“He also was an enemy for a long time and studied the offenses. So when he came over (to defense) and tells you, ‘This is what they’re going to try to do in a run game,’ and, ‘This is what their scheme is going to be in a run game,’ and, ‘This is what their scheme’s gonna be,’ you listen. And 98 percent of the time he’s right.”

Smith finished the regular season strong, with 6 ½ sacks after the bye, but it’s been in the postseason where he’s truly taken his game to another level.

His 4.0 sacks are the most ever by an Eagle in a single postseason, and including a half sack from the Tampa game last year he’s now got 4 ½ career postseason sacks, just one behind B.G. for the most in Eagles history.

The only other NFL players 24 or younger with more sacks in a postseason – and Smith just turned 24 two weeks ago – are one-time Eagle Greg Townsend of the Raiders in 1983 and the Steelers’ LaMarr Woodley in 2008.

On a team with so many remarkable stories, Smith’s transformation from a backup early in the season into one of the NFL’s most feared pass rushers is one of the most remarkable.

“He’s not hesitating as much,” Josh Sweat said. “He’s better with his hands, not hesitating as much with everything. Working hard and getting better every day.”

One other huge difference between Nolan Smith of 2023 and the 2024 version is Fangio, who’s been huge for Smith and all the young guys on the defense.

The job Fangio has done turning an aging inept defense into the best and youngest unit in the NFL has been incredible. And Smith is one of the centerpieces of a unit that has no weak link.

“Man, (Fangio) is just one of those guys that really just wants it all and he pushes you to that and he wants your best every game, every snap and I love that,” Smith said. “Just him being him, like literally just being around him and just his mannerisms and how he carries himself. I like older coaches that I can learn from and that’s gonna push me to be better.”

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