Tom Smythe has coached semi-pro football in Europe for 18 seasons. (Courtesy Tom Smythe)

Every time Tom Smythe thinks he’s out of coaching football, they pull him back in.

“I’ve been trying to retire totally for about five years, then I get a phone call and somebody says, ‘Geez, you know you could really help us,’” Smythe said. “And I go, ‘Sure, why not?’”

Smythe, who won 278 games and three state titles in 34 seasons as a head coach in Oregon, has returned to the high school game for the first time since resigning as Lakeridge’s coach in 2013. He has accepted a job as an assistant at Tualatin, where he is coaching the quarterbacks.

“I’m not looking to get back into it, but I couldn’t say no,” Smythe said. “And this is a fun deal. Coaching three kids is different than coaching the whole team.

“It’s just coaching now. I’m not worrying about the administration, I’m not worrying about the parents, all that stuff that a head coach has to worry about. It’s sort of a coaching vacation, actually.”

Smythe, 77, was known as an offensive innovator in coaching Lakeridge (1987) and McNary (1997, 2001) to state championships. He has taken his expertise to Europe, where he has coached semi-pro teams for 18 seasons, including this year in Hungary.

He was prepared to take this fall off when he got a call from Tualatin athletic director Ted Rose, one of his former players at Lakeridge and Lewis & Clark College.

Last year, Rose had asked Smythe to assist new Tualatin coach Dan Lever, but Smythe wasn’t available. Smythe asked Rose to call back in a year, and he did.

“I told him, ‘I’ve been a head coach for 50 years, and I don’t want anybody intimidated if I show up on staff. I just want to help,’” Smythe said.

After Lever met with Smythe in the spring to get feedback on the team’s offense, Lever said that “I could tell there was still plenty of competitive fire in him.”

“There is so much knowledge there and experience, it felt right, so we proceeded,” Lever said. “Our staff and our players have no regrets to have one of the all-time greats wearing the double-T.”

Smythe is settling into his role coaching Tualatin’s quarterbacks. The Timberwolves have a third-year starter in senior Kyle Dernedde and two promising juniors in Luke Marion and Blake Jackson.

“All three have starter talent, kind of like the Lakeridge days,” Smythe said.

Smythe has a long track record of developing quarterbacks. Erik Wilhelm and Doug Nussmeier played in the NFL. Todd Anderson (Oregon, Boise State), Jason Palumbis (Stanford) and Eric Dungey (Syracuse) went on to major-college careers.

Smythe will be in the press box during games and be available as a consultant. He had praise for Lever, who in his first season helped Tualatin improve to 7-4 from 2-8 in 2016.

“Dan’s really a good, young coach,” Smythe said. “He demands the right things. The kids are well-disciplined and understand hard work. He makes it fun for them. I’m very impressed with him. He’s a winner.”

Since leaving Lakeridge, Smythe has spent some of his time writing books. He completed the nine-book Eric Lewis Sports Series, which is about a three-sport athlete’s journey through high school.

Now, after five years away, Smythe is back on the high school field.

“Being around young athletes keeps you young,” Smythe said.