Smitty Grider graduated from Jeff Davis High in Montgomery. Grider started his career as a part-time assistant at Georgia Washington Junior High in 1982 not long after graduating from Jeff Davis.

Grider served as an assistant at Opelika for eight years and Smiths Station before landing his first head coach job at Central-Coosa in 2005. He took the reigns at Beauregard the following season. He took the program that had won just two games in as many years to a 7-4 record and a playoff berth in his first season.

In eight seasons at Beauregard his teams posted a 64-28 overall record including 30-7 his last three seasons with the program.

In 2014 he kicked off the Park Crossing football program in the initial season for the new school near Montgomery.

Coach Grider moved on to Hazel Green in 2018 as the head football coach before relocating to Dothan High in 2019 where he remained for three seasons before moving on to Benjamin Russell in 2022.

He also served as the head coach for the 2013 AHSAA North-South All-Star Game. His record in nineteen seasons stands at 143-71.