A Brother's View: Fishing, Coaching, and the UNC Bears' Puerto Rico Trip

The 14th of August is Matt Smiley's birthday, which he's celebrating at 30 again—or, as his younger brother Steve Smiley puts it, "Sometimes he's two years older than me, sometimes he's three years older than me." For this special episode of The Two Man Game, the UNC head basketball coach dragged his older brother into the studio with about three minutes' notice. Matt, who lives in Lake City and is currently evacuated due to nearby wildfires, came ready to talk about beards, golf handicaps, and the path that led him away from college football and into professional fishing—while his little brother ended up running a Division I basketball program.

Two Paths from the Same High School Gym

Both Smiley brothers grew up around sports. Their father was their high school coach, and both played college athletics. Matt played football at Western State in Gunnison, Colorado. When his final season ended, he finally had his first free fall in years—and he used it to fish. "I just wanted to see what it's like to not have all those time commitments associated with athletics," Matt said. He had a biochemistry degree and no clear plan, but the pull of the outdoors was stronger than any coaching offer. "My draw for hunting and fishing… just kind of became too much to ignore."