[Opinion] Thoughts On Buffalo Bills’ Hire Of First Female, Full-Time ‘Coach’

You may think you've heard this story before. You haven't. Kathryn Smith has become the first female to take on a full-time coaching position in the NFL. After spending more than a decade in various roles with the New York Jets, in 2015 Smith was an administrative assistant to Rex Ryan in Buffalo (whom she also worked under with the Jets), and will become the Bills' special teams quality control coach for the 2016 campaign.

I say this story may sound familiar because I, myself, thought: 'Wait, I thought this already happened.'

I was recalling the hiring of Jen Welter as the Arizona Cardinals linebackers coach in training camp last summer - which was a part-time role. It was also later described by Cards' head coach Bruce Arians as an 'internship'. He said she did well and would welcome her back in the future, ESPN reported at the end of camp.

Meanwhile, Smith is now officially part of Rex Ryan's coaching staff, but it's worth noting that this seems to be more of an analytical role. I'm not knocking it. Honestly, I'd take that job, or really any other NFL job in a heartbeat. I'm just noting that it appears the duties seem to involve breaking down opponent trends, not game planning and instruction.

This is clearly historic, but I personally tend be more impressed by stories like Welter's, where a woman is hired in a hands-on, technique-teaching role where she is instructing men how to be better athletes (in this case football players) in their sport. I think that's the first thing most people think of when you say 'coach'.

However, if you doubt the importance of a 'QCC', take a look at some excerpts of this 2011 article at MileHighReport.com outlining the role of a Denver Broncos' quality control coach:

The QC coaches often run the "Scout" team in practices. From their extensive film work and breaking down plays, the QCC can be a great help preparing their team because they know the tendencies of their opponents. They make sure the Scout teams give the starters an accurate look at what they'll face on Sunday in practice during game weeks.

And, there are plenty of NFL current and former head coaches and coordinators who started in these quality-control-type positions:

The list of NFL coaches that have completed an "Apprenticeship" as the QC Coach include Todd Haley, Eric Mangini, Steve Spagnuolo, Brad Childress, Tony Sparano and Raheem Morris.

Finally, the piece ends this way:

The QC job has become so important that even Special-Teams coordinators are asking for their own Quality-Control coaches, and QC coaches now have agents.

If Quality is Job One as the Ford Motor Company claims, The Quality Control Coach is an essential element to any NFL team.

Whether or not Smith's duties meet the definition of what I or others think of when someone says 'coach', she is breaking down a barrier and could help pave the way for a future female offensive or defensive coordinator, and possibly, a female NFL head coach.