History was made on Wednesday when the Buffalo Bills announced the hiring of the first full-time female coach in the NFL.
Kathryn Smith was hired as the team’s quality control-special teams coach.
Smith is familiar with Bills head coach Rex Ryan. The two worked together for a number of years while Ryan was with the New York Jets. Smith interned with the Jets in 2003 and remained with the organization for 12 years. Last season, she worked in Buffalo as Ryan’s administrative assistant.
"Kathryn Smith has done an outstanding job in the seven years that she has worked with our staff," Ryan said. "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."
ESPN W noted that Smith’s hire comes after the Arizona Cardinals hired Jen Welter several months ago to work as the team’s inside linebackers coach during training camp. Smith is the first woman to obtain a full-time coaching position in the league.