By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – There are many ways to address your father-in-law, depending on your relationship with him, of course. You can call him “Sir” or “Mister.” Or if you’re especially close, maybe you can call him by his first name or even “Dad.”
But in the case of Kody Cook, he simply calls the father of his wife “Coach Smith.”
Cook is Old Dominion’s new offensive coordinator, and in what is a rare occurrence in college or professional sports, his father-in-law, Michael Smith, is ODU’s new wide receivers coach.
In other words, Cook is essentially his father-in-law’s boss.
That’s not the way they look at this. They say they’re working with each other and call their relationship a rare amalgam of family, friend and colleague.
Entering his third season at ODU, Cook was the wide receivers coach prior to being promoted earlier this year. Smith recently joined the ODU staff with a splendid coaching resume that includes 27 years as an assistant coach.
“A lot of people kind of like cringe because they think of in-laws and all of the stereotypes that come with that,” Cook said. “But we have a very different relationship. A very different kind of relationship.”
Their relationship extends three years prior to Cook meeting his future wife, Kylie.
A little background: Smith was a standout at Kansas State, catching 179 passes for 2,457 yards and was named a third-team All-American in 1991. He also played a season with the Kansas City Chiefs.
He was an assistant coach at Kansas State when he was asked to help recruit Cook out of Hutchinson Junior College in Kansas. They quickly formed a good relationship, but Smith left to go to Arkansas before Cook enrolled at Kansas State.
Cook was a pretty good player at Kansas State as well.
He was a recruited walk-on who earned a scholarship and started 21 games at wide receiver and played three more as a quarterback. He was a second-team All-Big 12 choice as a senior.
“My relationship with Kody is unique,” Smith said. “I took a job at the University of Arkansas as we were recruiting him, but we never lost touch. We actually played Kansas State when he was there in a bowl game.”
Cook played well in that game, the 2016 Liberty Bowl, which Arkansas won, 45-23, completing 12-of-24 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown.
Then a couple of years later, Cook and Kylie crossed paths at a game and nature took its course.
“When they started dating, I was just ecstatic about it because I know the type of young man he is,” Smith said. “I knew his parents back from my days at K-State and they were such good people and good friends.”
They were married in 2020, “just before the world shut down,” Cook said with a laugh.
Smith walked his daughter down the aisle and Cook said Smith “gave a great speech. It was very emotional.”
ODU has ties with Kansas State beyond Cook and Smith. Head Coach Ricky Rahne and Remington Rebstock, assistant defensive coordinator and safeties coach, both coached there. Defensive coordinator Blake Seiler both played and coached at Kansas State.
Curiously, there are few examples of a son-in-law and father-in-law working together on a football coaching staff.
Corey Dennis worked for years, and quite successfully, for his father-in-law, Urban Meyer, at Ohio State. Chris Snee played for his father-in-law, Tom Coughlin, with the New York Giants, and they won a Super Bowl together.
But by and large, it’s a very rare thing.
Rahne said he was excited about the opportunity to hire Smith, who coached for five seasons at Arkansas, and then coached at Arizona, Rice and South Alabama before landing at McNeese State.
“Michael did a phenomenal job at McNeese State,” Rahne said. “He has continually mentored productive units and is an elite recruiter. His relationship with Kody is fantastic. Our entire offensive staff is working so well together.”
Cook helped recruit and coach an elite receiving corps last season. ODU ranked fifth nationally with an average pass reception of 14.73 yards and was one of nine schools with three players with more than 600 yards receiving.
After losing three wide receivers in the transfer portal, Smith has been tasked with rebuilding.
“I think we reloaded there,” Cook said. “We’ve got a lot of talent coming in. We’ll know more in the fall but I’m excited about these guys.”
Cook is also rebuilding most of his offense as running back Devin Roche is the only returning starter. There is a three-way battle to replace Colton Joseph at quarterback and the offensive line will be manned largely by transfers.
“The coaching profession is hard, especially now,” Smith said. “But as a young man, Kody has done unbelievable things. What he did with ODU’s wide receivers last year was just amazing. Now he’s taking the bull by the horn and he’s running with it and brought me along for the ride.”
Smith said the day-to-day interaction with Cook and the rest of the coaches has been great.
“There’s always some concern when you’re hiring a family member, but you’re also hiring a guy who’s married to your daughter. And our relationship is unique. We’ve always had a buddy, buddy relationship,” he said. “We can go into a room, close the door and let things out and then as soon as the door is open, and we walk out, it’s all good. We don’t always agree on everything, but you know, we also respect each other. The thing about Kody is that he’s mature and professional enough to understand that he’s not going to always be right. And that’s the sign of a great leader.”
Both say that Smith will make the decisions on who starts at wide receiver.
“The thing I told these guys is when I came here, they all had a clean slate,” he said. “Kody gave me his opinions and coach Rahne give me his opinions on the guys I’m working with. However, at the end of the day, I’m going to make the choice. I’m going to play the guys I trust. And I tell my guys, the way you earn my trust is by doing things the right way.”
Both are preparing the offense for ODU’s Priority Charity Bowl Spring Game to be held Saturday, April 18, at 2 p.m.
It will give ODU fans their first look at the Monarchs since their 24-10 Cure Bowl victory over South Florida, which capped off a 10-3 season, ODU’s best since 2016.
“The offense is going to look very similar to what we’ve done in the past,” Cook said. “I’ve learned a lot through the years. I’ve been to a lot of different systems. But it’s going to look similar to last year. I’m looking forward to seeing Coach Smith develop our wide receivers. He’s been with me in a sense ever since I got into coaching. Now, he’s just down the hallway. He brings a lot of experience, a lot of energy. The same kind of energy and same kind of mentality we had in that room last year. The fact that he recruited me before I met his daughter made us friends before we became family. And now that we are family, it’s just made us stronger.”
Minium is ODU's Senior Executive Writer for Athletics. Contact him at hminium@odu.edu or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
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