Paul "PJ" Smith was born in Raleigh and attended West Mecklenburg and Enloe High Schools. During his high school years, he was an NCHSAA state qualifier. After completing high school, he enrolled at North Carolina State University, where he wrestled under Coach Al Crawford and Coach Jerry Daniels. Smith was a three-year starter for the Wolfpack at 134 lbs. and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics in 1970.

Smith's education and coaching career began in 1971 at Jacksonville High School. Later, he held positions at Ravenscroft High School and West Millbrook Junior High. In 1977, he obtained his Master of Teaching Physical Education (MAT) from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before starting his college coaching career in 1978 at Campbell University. During his time at Campbell, he coached the Camels to a 44-42-1 record over three seasons.

In 1981, Smith became the Head Wrestling Coach and a faculty member at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNCP). At UNCP, he served as the Head Wrestling Coach, Physical Education Instructor, Aquatics Director, and Swim School Director until his retirement in 2006. Throughout 25 seasons, his dual record at UNCP was 255-150-3, with an overall career record of 299-192-4. Under his coaching, 33 wrestlers earned NCAA II All-American honors, with four reaching the NCAA II national finals. He led the Braves to two Top-10 finishes at the NCAA II National Tournament (1989, 2005) and witnessed 13 of his student-athletes earn Academic All-American honors. Smith was named the Region Coach of the Year on five different occasions (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, and 2003) and coached 17 Regional individual champions. Additionally, he guided 15 wrestlers to careers with 100 or more wins.

An active member of various wrestling organizations, Smith served on the NCAA Wrestling Rules Committee and was a member of the USA Wrestling National Coaches Pool. He served as the NCUSA Wrestling State Chairman and contributed to the USA Regional Wrestling Training Center and National Beach Wrestling Championships. Smith was also a major advocate for amateur wrestling locally and helped initiate three high school wrestling programs in Robeson County and fundraised to purchase seven wrestling mats for local teams. Smith served on the Board of Directors for the NC Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame until 2023.

Throughout his career, Smith was deeply engaged in the wrestling community, earning numerous awards for his contributions. He received the NC USA Wrestling Person of the Year award in 1991 and 2001, and the North Carolina Golden Whistle award for officiating in 2004. He received the USA Wrestling Beach Wrestling Person of the Year award in 2011. Smith has been inducted into the North Carolina Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (2006), the NCAA Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame (2006), and the UNC Pembroke Hall of Fame (2015).