The Bills are "drawing a whole lot" of attention for hiring Kathryn Smith as the first full-time female assistant coach in NFL history, according to Vic Carucci of the BUFFALO NEWS. Smith will be the position of quality control-special teams, a "low-level job that mainly involves highly detailed work." Carucci: "But it's a start and a significant career step for someone who has spent 13 years working her way up the NFL ladder" (BUFFALONEWS.com, 1/21). In Rochester, Sal Maiorana noted the "inability of women to break into the ultimate all-men's club" had gone on for decades, but with Smith's hire, the "door has finally been cracked open." The "breaking down of the NFL’s on-field gender barrier began last spring when the NFL hired Sarah Thomas to be the first woman to serve as a game official." It continued last summer when Cardinals coach Bruce Arians "laid the ground work for the potential of women serving as coaches when he brought in Jen Welter as a part-time linebackers coach during their training camp." It "may not be a coincidence that Smith’s promotion is by a Buffalo team with a woman wielding the ultimate power." Bills co-Owner Kim Pegula is one of four women "at the top of the NFL’s power structure" (DEMOCRATANDCHRONICLE.com, 1/21). ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted Smith's hire is a "continuation of the trend that we’ve seen league-wide with women having more prominent roles and more prominent positions than ever before.” Schefter: “It’s the next step in a progression of women evolving into more prominent roles all across the NFL” (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 1/21).
HISTORIC HIRE: Pro Football HOFer Michael Strahan called the Bills' move a “historic hire in the NFL, a woman breaking through the glass ceiling” ("GMA," ABC, 1/21). CBS’ Elaine Quijano said, “Historically, the NFL coaching ranks have been one of the biggest boys clubs on the block, but the Buffalo Bills are changing that.” CBS’ Norah O’Donnell: “A very big deal” ("CBS This Morning," 1/21). ESPN’s Skip Bayless said the hiring was a “significant step, but unfortunately a very small step, in the way of progress of having women coach” in the NFL ("First Take," ESPN2, 1/21). ESPNW’s Kate Fagan said, “This position is a little different than Jen Welter’s. ... This one could be more of an assistant administrative role to the special teams and it’s possible that it’s opening the door for her to move over to the football ops side, so it opens up a lot of different avenues for her, and, of course, it opens up more doors for women to get to places within the NFL." Dallas Morning News columnist Tim Cowlishaw said, "It can go even beyond the NFL because ... people in other sports say, ‘Jeez, even the NFL is hiring female coaches. What are we doing? Why are we not making more progress?'" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 1/21).
NBD? Smith said, "I was surprised at first, but I also know [coach] Rex [Ryan] really puts a lot of faith in his staff and his people, so from that standpoint, it made sense, knowing I've worked with Rex directly and indirectly for a number of years." She added, "It's been pretty extraordinary, the reaction, and I realize that it's groundbreaking. I might be the first, but I think very quickly there are going to be many other women in the league. So I may be the first, but I don't think I'll be the only one for very long" (BUFFALOBILLS.com, 1/21). Pegula said that she was "surprised at the attention the announcement has received." Pegula: "Not to take away from what Kathryn had achieved, but she was just deserving of the job, and it was a natural process. So I'm a little bit mixed on it. It is a big deal, but at the same time, she earned that position, so I really did not see all this hype coming. ... It was great that we were able to promote someone from within. So maybe for us ... we saw it through different eyes. But I'm guessing the outside world sees something much bigger because they don't know Kathryn on a day-to-day basis. We're just doing what we feel is right" (ESPN.com, 1/21).
