In his last year at
Cercle Brugge, Smolders combined the roles of player and assistant manager. In August 2015, Smolders joined Belgian amateur club
Zwevezele, and after three years at the club, he officially retired in August 2018, when he was hired as an assistant manager for the
Belgian U-19 national team under manager
Jacky Mathijssen. In June 2019, Smolders returned to
Club Brugge as an assistant coach for the clubs U-21 team and talent coach for both the U-21 and U-18 teams. On 9 August 2021, Smolders was placed in a new role at Club Brugge as the Head of the clubs Academy, Club NXT Academy. On May 31, 2022, Club announced that they and Smolders had mutually agreed to part ways. ==Honours==