Fred Goldsmith

Who is Fred Goldsmith?

Fred Goldsmith is a former American college football coach. His final job was as the 18th head football coach for Lenoir–Rhyne University, an NCAA division II school in Hickory, North Carolina. Hired on November 28, 2006, Goldsmith arrived at Lenoir-Rhyne fresh off a successful four-year run at Franklin High School in Franklin, North Carolina, where he compiled an overall win-loss record of 47–15. Goldsmith retired on May 3, 2011.

Goldsmith is perhaps best known for his coaching successes in the 1990s at two NCAA Division I programs that are not accustomed to success: Duke University and Rice University. His résumé includes the 1992 Sports Illustrated National NCAA Football Coach of the Year and the 1994 Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award. At Duke, he breathed life into a program still in the doldrums of the post-Steve Spurrier era and was known as a capable defensive tactician. His team's offenses were often hampered by the lack of athletic personnel and forced Goldsmith to compensate by running draws on third-and-long and throwing wide receiver screens 10 to 15 times a game.