Photo Credit: Anna Stolzenberg/Buffalo Bills via AP
Kathryn Smith made history in the NFL, becoming the first full-time female coach. Smith was officially added to the Buffalo Bills coaching staff on January 20th, 2016 and has been talked about ever since. That is why this week’s spotlight will be focusing on Kathryn Smith.
Smith’s background is similar to other females currently working in sports. During her high school years, Smith played lacrosse, bowling, and even swimming. She attended St. John’s University in Queens where she received a degree in sports management and became the men’s basketball team manager. During her high school and college career, Smith began working for the New York Jets as game day/special events operations intern and then became a college scouting intern for the team.
After graduating college in 2007, Smith would be hired by the New York Jets as their player personnel assistant, a job that she would hold for six years. In 2014, she became the Jets administrative assistant before reuniting with former coach Rex Ryan who was hired as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills.  She was promoted to special teams quality control coach. Smith’s patience is what makes her so admirable, working so long before finally receiving a position that she knew would be life-changing.
However, Smith gave most of the credit to Rex Ryan saying, “I was surprised, yes, but also, no, in the sense that Rex is open-minded…Rex and I have worked together for a number of years so I know him pretty well. We have a good working relationship and he’s very loyal to people who work with him and people who he values what they do.” While some of the credit for the hiring has to go to Ryan, it is clear that Smith is more than qualified for the job.
Smith has only recently been hired but has received praise from many people in and around the NFL. One of the biggest names was Dr. Jen Welter, former coaching intern for the Arizona Cardinals, “There have been so many great opportunities. Everyone’s road is a little bit different, so I was glad to have opened up the door for her and my path is just a little different.” In addition to Welter, she has obviously been praised by Rex Ryan, Joey Clinkscales who is a former co-worker of Smith’s and a current Raiders employee and various players from the Bills.
Smith’s hiring will certainly go down in the history books as one of the great moments for females in sports. Even if Smith doesn’t want all the publicity and recognition, she deserves it and more. Her hiring brings all women one step closer to equality. Congratulations once again to Kathryn Smith!
