Kathryn Smith made history earlier this week, being named the Bills quality control-special teams coach. Today, she released a statement regarding the new gig (via Buffalo Bills PR on Twitter):
“I would like to thank Rex Ryan, Kim and Terry Pegula and the Buffalo Bills franchise for this opportunity.
“I am excited to continue to work with out special teams coordinator Danny Crossman, special teams assistant Eric Smith and our entire coaching staff and players as we prepare for the 2016 NFL season.
“The amount of attention generated from this announcement in the past 24 hours has been extraordinary, however, my focus remains on my job responsibilities and helping the team win.
“I would like to thank my family and friends for all their support. It’s a tremendous honor to become the first full-time female assistant coach in the National Football League and I appreciate Rex Ryan giving me this opportunity based on the merit of my work and commitment to this organization.”
Let’s take a look at some more coaching notes from around the league…
- Rob Ryan turned down “coordinating jobs” to join his brother, Rex, and the Bills, tweets Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News.
- The Browns have hired former Titans defensive backs coach Louie Cioffi for the same coaching position, reports Alex Marvez of Fox Sports (via Twitter). Cioffi was on the Browns coaching staff in 2013.
- There are some differing reports regarding the future of Titans assistant defensive line coach Nick Eason. Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports (via Twitter) that Eason will join the Browns in an unspecified role. However, Marvez tweets that Eason will instead by promoted by the Titans and become their defensive-line coach.
- ESPN.com’s Vaughn McClure hears that Cowboys secondary coach Jerome Henderson may be joining the Falcons coaching staff (Twitter link). Henderson will reportedly be in Atlanta tomorrow for an interview. McClure notes that while Atlanta’s current defensive backs coach, Marquand Manuel, interviewed to be the Jaguars defensive coordinator, it would appear he’s staying put.
The news of the day has been some Cleveland radio host making sexist comments about Smith’s hiring, and that’s unfortunate. She’s clearly qualified for the role, and here’s hoping that the integration of women into prominent sports roles (both in coaching and in front offices) is so commonplace in a few years that it’s barely a topic.