Columbia University Athletics

Seitu Smith joined Columbia as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in January 2024 and helped the Lions capture their first Ivy League title since 1961 in his first season at the helm.
 
The Lions’ offense racked up 3,930 yards of total offense in 2024, which is the second most in program history and the most since 1983, and racked up 169.1 rushing yards per game, good for No. 2 in the Ivy League.
 
Wide receiver Bryson Canty was a first-team All-Ivy League honoree after racking up 760 yards and nine touchdowns. Due to an injury to starter Chase Goodwin, Columbia played with three different starting quarterbacks, each of whom earned at least one victory.
 
Smith originally joined the Elis as a running backs coach in February 2021 and was promoted to Assistant Head Coach/Run Game Coordinator in March 2023. He was a part of back-to-back Ivy League Championship runs with the Bulldogs in 2022 and 2023.
 
Yale captured its second consecutive Ancient Eight crown in 2023 thanks to a pair of the Ivy League’s top rushers, Joshua Pitsenberger and dual-threat quarterback Nolan Grooms. Grooms repeated as the Ivy League’s Offensive Asa S. Bushnell Cup winner after picking up 588 rushing yards and a pair of scores on the ground. Pitsenberger was a second-team All-Ivy League selection after racking up 448 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, which was good for second in the league.
 
In 2022, Smith mentored two of the top running backs in the Ivy League in Pitsenberger and Tre Peterson, who combined to rush for 1,391 yards. Pitsenberger was named the league’s rookie of the year and a first-team All-Ivy League selection, while Peterson earned honorable mention recognition. Yale led the league in rushing at 232.8 yards per game, which was ninth in the nation, and captured an outright Ivy League championship.
 
Smith previously served as an offensive quality control coach with the Cleveland Browns during the 2020 season.
 
Smith got his start coaching at Durham University in England while working on his master's degree. When he returned to the U.S., Smith spent a year coaching running backs and linebackers while teaching math at J.P. Taravella High School in Florida before landing a director of player personnel position at Dartmouth in 2018. There, Smith worked alongside Browns Chief of Staff Callie Brownson before heading to Brown University, where he was a quarterbacks coach in 2019.
 
Smith was a wide receiver and return specialist at Harvard, where he graduated in 2015. He finished fourth in school history with a 9.6 career yards per punt return average and fifth with an average of 19.9 yards per kick return. He caught 84 passes for 939 yards and seven touchdowns while adding 304 yards and two scores on the ground throughout his career.