Former Houston Oilers defensive tackle Doug Smith died Thursday afternoon from a heart attack, Mark Berman, formerly sports director at KRIV, reports. Smith was 64.
“It was unexpected,” Smith’s wife, Becky, told Berman. “Two months ago, he got a clean bill of health for his heart. He went to his cardiologist and [the tests] came back his heart was good, but you know we know even healthy people can have a heart attack.”
The Oilers selected Smith out of Auburn in the second round of the 1984 draft, but he instead signed with the Birmingham Stallions of the USFL. His deal was a four-year deal reportedly worth $1.2 million with a signing bonus of $350,000.
Smith totaled five sacks and earned All-USFL honors as a rookie, but the league folded before the 1985 season.
He went on to play 101 games with the Oilers, starting 77, in his eight seasons. He totaled one interception and 14 sacks.
Smith’s career was threatened in 1990 when he was shot in the knee while at a gathering of friends and family near his childhood home in Bayboro, North Carolina. Smith, though, continued his career and retired after the 1992 season.