Bills Make History

The NFL is always presented as the ultimate man’s world, but now one of the big, burly guys is a woman.

The Buffalo Bills on Wednesday announced the hiring of Kathryn Smith as the team’s quality control-special teams coach. She becomes the NFL’s first female full-time coach. Smith had worked for Bills coach Rex Ryan with the New York Jets and also last season, according to the team’s website, as an administrative assistant. She broke in with the Jets as an intern in 2003 in game-day events and became a college scouting intern in 2005, and then a full-time player personnel assistant in 2007.

Last summer, the Arizona Cardinals employed Jen Welter as an assistant coach during training camp, working with their linebackers. The NBA’s San Antonio Spurs also have a full-time assistant coach who is a woman (Becky Hammon). She coached the Spurs’ summer team in Las Vegas to the title.

This could be an interesting hire for the Bills, because their special teams last season were mostly mediocre. Kicker Dan Carpenter missed six extra points, second most in the NFL, and the 25 penalties assessed against special teams was the third-most in the league. Quality control, we’ll assume, will involve controlling quality. Good luck there, Kathryn Smith. Make that Coach Smith.

“Kathryn has been working in a football administrative role and assisted the assistant coaches for years. She has proven that she’s ready for the next step, so I’m excited and proud for her with this opportunity,” Ryan said in a statement. “She will work with (special teams coordinator) Danny Crossman and (special teams assistant) Eric Smith involving a number of responsibilities.”

And already Buffalo’s special teams are just a little bit more special.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman