The Cardinals made significant waves at the outset of the season, hiring Jenn Welter to serve as a training-camp assistant coach, working with inside linebackers. When camp ended, so did Welter’s assignment. The Bills are now taking the next step in the evolution of female football coaches.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Bills have hired Kathryn Smith to serve as a special teams quality control coach. She becomes the first full-time female assistant coach in NFL history.
The position was made official with the league office on Tuesday, and the Bills have not yet issued a formal announcement of the move.
Smith worked as the administrative assistant to coach Rex Ryan in 2015, a position she also held during Ryan’s final year with the Jets. Before that, she spent seven years as a player personnel assistant with the Jets. Previously, she was a game day/special events intern and a college scouting intern.
While it’s a low-level coaching assignment, it’s still a coaching assignment, and it gives her an opportunity to continue to develop and to grow, and eventually to possibly become a position coach or special-teams coordinator.