When teams change head coaches, it never comes as a great shock when they choose to part ways with the assistants that made up the previous coach’s staff.
The Bills didn’t make a formal announcement about the futures of most of Ryan’s assistants when they hired Sean McDermott as their head coach earlier this month, but that changed on Tuesday. The team announced that 14 coaches from last year’s staff will not be back in 2017.
Among the coaches let go is Kathryn Smith, who became the first female assistant coach in the NFL when Ryan appointed her as the special teams quality control coach. Smith joined the organization as Ryan’s administrative assistant in 2015 and started working in the NFL with the Jets in 2003.
Longtime Ravens safety Ed Reed is also leaving the club. He started his coaching career last year as an assistant defensive backs coach. Linebackers coach Bobby April, defensive line coach John Blake and quarterbacks coach David Lee had already been replaced by new hires and offensive line coach Aaron Kromer has taken the same position with the Rams.
The team also confirmed that defensive assistant D’Anton Lynn, defensive backs coach Tim McDonald, offensive assistant Pat Meyer, assistant head coach/offense Chris Palmer, special teams coach Eric Smith, defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman, assistant quarterbacks coach Jason Vrable and outside linebackers coach Jeff Weeks will not be back with the team.
