Rex hires NFL’s 1st female coach
REX RYAN is helping to break down gender barriers in the NFL.
The Bills announced Wednesday that they have hired Kathryn Smith as a special teams quality control coach, making her the first full-time female NFL assistant in the NFL.
“Kathryn Smith has done an outstanding job in the seven years that she has worked with our staff,” Ryan said in a statement released by the team. “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.”
Smith spent many years with the Jets, starting with the organization in 2003 as a game day and special events intern. She became a college scouting intern in 2005, a player personnel assistant in 2007 and assistant to the head coach in 2014. She followed Ryan to Buffalo in 2015 after the Jets fired him.
Last year, the Cardinals hired Jen Welter as an assistant coaching intern for training camp. Welter was believed to be the first female coach in NFL history, but Smith is the first full-time NFL coach.
“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,” Ryan said in the statement. “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 (Gregg) Popovich at the San Antonio Spurs, and realize how exciting this is for women like Kathryn Smith as well as the Bills organization.”
Ryan was referring to Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon.
“Kathryn has been working in a football administrative role and assisted the assistant coaches for years,” Ryan added. “She has proven that she’s ready for the next step, so I’m excited and proud for her with this opportunity. She will work with Danny Crossman and Eric Smith involving a number of responsibilities.”
ALOHA: Chris Ivory will be headed to Hawaii after all. The Jets’ running back, who narrowly missed the or iginal P ro Bowl cut, will be making the trip after LeSean McCoy bowed out with an injury.