With Smith his '04 and '05 drafts turned the Chargers around into a SB contender.
Phillip Rivers
Igor Olshansky
Nate Kaeding
Nick Hardwick
Shaun Phillips
Michael Turner
Shawne Merriman
Luis Castillo
Vincent Jackson
Darren Sproles
Eight of those guys were pro-bowlers during their careers. Then he drafted Antonio Cromartie and Marcus McNeil in '06. Since then his drafts haven't been as great. His next three first round picks (Craig Davis, Antoine Cason and Larry English) were all busts.
One thing Smith is good at though, which the Skins have sucked at for years, is drafting OL and DL. He also seems to know RBs. Sproles, Turner and Matthews were all good.
Smith's arrogance with players and agents when it came to contracts is why he wasn't liked. Also he still lives in the San Diego area and was still being paid by the Spanos family after he was fired. I don't think he was dying to find another GM job.