Smith returns to Jacksonville for preseason opener

"I'm excited about it," Smith said.

"Of course, I'm going to get to see some friends and family. It's going to be a good time. It's going to be fun to compete against those guys."

Atlanta's preseason schedule ends with an Aug. 28 visit to Baltimore, where Smith was an assistant from 1999-2002.

"I kind of felt it was ironic to go back to Jacksonville for this first game and then not only play the Jaguars but to have the opportunity to play Baltimore, where I spent time," he said. "There will be some familiarity for me."

There also will be some familiarity for the Jaguars.

Jacksonville defensive end Paul Spicer said he was not surprised to see Smith hired as a head coach.

"I think he's going to be a great coach," Spicer said. "I've watched Smitty the past five years really just turning into someone who had a great approach to the game.

"He's a very cerebral type of guy when it comes to football. He understands what it is about being a coach, and being a leader, and every year he just got better and better and better."

Spicer said even before the interview with Atlanta he asked Smith, "'When are you going to get hired? All of these guys getting hired, when are you going to get hired?' Because I could see it in him, a guy that could take the reins and be a leader, and take a football team to where they need to go."

Jacksonville linebacker Clint Ingram said Smith could be tough but was "a good guy."

"You could talk to him and he always had a smile on his face, except when he was chewing me out for something, which I didn't mind him doing," Ingram said.