The Buffalo Bills have announced Kathryn Smith has been named the team's Special Teams Quality Control Coach. Smith is the first female to be named to a full-time coaching position in NFL History.
Smith is entering her 14th year in the NFL. She joins the Bills' coaching ranks after spending 2015 as the team's administrative assistant to Head Coach Rex Ryan. Before joining the Bills, Smith spend 12 seasons working for the New York Jets.
In a statement released by the Bills, Ryan stated, "She certainly deserves this promotion based on her knowledge and strong commitment, just to name a couple of her outstanding qualities, and I just know she’s going to do a great job serving in the role of Quality Control-Special Teams.”
“I consulted with Bruce Arians on this since he was really the first NFL head coach to make this kind of move when he hired a female linebackers coach through the summer," stated Ryan. "You can see the success some of these young ladies are having in the coaching profession, such as the young lady that is an assistant to Coach (Greg) Popovich at the San Antonio Spurs, and realize how exciting this is for women like Kathryn Smith as well as the Bills organization.”